Potter and Prejudice
by Xavras
Summary: The basic story of Pride & Prejudice - set in the world of Harry Potter. Apparently this has been tried before (I started writing this over a year ago, and only just did a search and saw several others have attempted it in their own ways). Non epilogue compliant. Set post HPaDH. Ignores the Cursed Child. Meant for fun.
1. Prologue

**AN: This story is basically a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in the Harry Potter world. It starts after the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry will essentially be Mr. Darcy and Daphne Greengrass will essentially have the role of Elizabeth Bennett. I am working on getting the entire story finished (all chapters have been written and I am editing them, rewriting them, and having my beta, Dorothea Greengrass who once again is an incredible help). It ignores the epilogue as well as The Cursed Child. **

**The prologue essentially introduces the changes I have made to the story and then I will begin the story that will essentially be the adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.**

* * *

_**Prologue**_

**2 June 1998.**

**Hogwarts**

One month had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts.

Harry Potter took a walk around the grounds of the famous castle, his head bent in deep thoughts. He needed to make a decision, and he needed to make it quick, as long as he still had a few moments of precious alone time.

The repairs of the devastation the proud castle had suffered during the battle one month ago were in full swing. Harry had returned to the castle right after the funerals of Remus and Tonks and Fred to contribute his share to the rebuilding effort. Today, however, he didn't spare a look for the vast progress the rebuilding crews had made within a few weeks after the battle.

Moments like this had become scarce ever since his defeat of Voldemort. These days everybody seemed to think they were entitled to a piece of him, if it was Headmistress McGonagall urging him to return to Hogwarts and accept the position as head boy for the next school year, or acting minister Shacklebolt wanting his endorsement for some piece of legislation to reverse the horrible laws of the past year, or something as simple as a parent or sibling of one of the members of the rebuilding crews who wanted to thank him personally for his part in Riddle's downfall.

And then there was Ginny.

Ever since the fateful final battle when Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, was defeated, Ginny had been assuming that they were once again a couple. To be honest, to get back to her had been his deepest desire during all those bleak months of the Horcrux hunt. The dream of a future with Ginny was what had kept him going. It also turned out to be the biggest snag to his future happiness: it was a mere dream, he'd loved the ideal of Ginny he had made up in his dreams, he'd never seen the real Ginny.

He gave a rueful chuckle. The last weeks had been an eye-opener in that regard.

Over the past month he'd seen her flaunt her status as the girlfriend of Harry Potter. She'd treated other students like they were beneath her because she was dating the boy, no, the wizard who had defeated the Dark Lord. That had been a real turn-off.

He never would've thought the dream of a happy future with her would become stale a few short weeks after his return to her and the rest of the wizarding world, but stale it had become, staler even than a forgotten glass of butterbeer.

He gave an inward shudder as he recalled the many incidents that had made him uncomfortable: her repeatedly boasting to others about how he had saved her when she was a first year, her repeatedly going on about how he had defeated Riddle multiple times throughout the school years, how he won the TriWizard championship as only a fourth year, how he had saved so many students on so many occasions. She even boasted to others how she was dating the greatest seeker since Viktor Krum.

There was only one solution to his misery: he had to end things with her, no matter how apprehensive he was of her reaction, and Ron's.

His resolve made, he took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and looked up.

Ginny was making her way across the lawn towards him.

Harry uttered a heartfelt expletive under his breath and hoped for the best.

He'd tried before to talk to Ginny about his changed feelings, but never found the right words. This time, however, he had to go through with it. He couldn't lead her on any longer, for her and his benefit he had to make choices, although she probably wouldn't see it this way. However, he had his own future to consider, something which he didn't even think was possible a month ago, and for once he would be selfish about it.

Ginny ran the last few steps towards him, a broad smile on her face, placed her hands around his neck, and leaned in to give him a kiss.

Harry bent away and removed her hands from around him as gently as he could.

"What's wrong, Harry?" She frowned, and her chocolate brown eyes looked at him in bewilderment.

"We need to talk." He cleared his throat. Damn, why was this so hard? "Or rather, I need to talk, I need to tell you what I've been thinking."

Ginny's frown deepened, and she bit her lip. "You seem upset, or angry, or... I don't know what."

"I'm not angry, I'm not upset." Harry balled his sweaty hands into fists and his heartbeat sped up. It was now or never. "It's just... I don't think this is working between us."

There, the words were out! His racing heartbeat somewhat slowed down as he took in a long breath and slowly let it out.

Ginny gasped and backed away. She regarded him with utter disbelief in her eyes. "What's not working? You won the battle, you won the war. No one is after you anymore. We can be together! This time the hero gets to ride away into the sunset with the princess!" She tossed her fiery mane back and gave him another hurt look.

Harry sighed. "You don't get it, don't you? You don't even get me. You've been all about what I've done in the past, my defeating Voldemort, multiple times even, and my rescuing you. You seem enamoured with 'Harry the Hero' from all those stupid books you read about a fictionalised version of me when you were a child."

Ginny gaped at him, her eyes wide. "But they were great stories!" A reminiscent smile flickered across her face.

Harry suppressed another sigh. Could it be she still thought the Harry of the fictional stories to be the real article? His mind wandered back to the short time they had been together after the war. Who was he fooling? Of course she thought just that, now, after his defeat of Voldemort, even more than ever. Yet he tried once more.

"Ginny, you had a girlhood crush on the Boy Who Lived, the character in those outlandish stories. You developed an infatuation with me when you met me when I became Ron's friend. You saw me as your knight in shining armour, your personal saviour when I rescued you from the Chamber of Secrets."

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes, however, there was also a belligerent sparkle in them. "But you did rescue me from the chamber!"

This time he didn't bother to hold back the sigh. "I would have rescued anyone down there if I had to. You were the unfortunate one who was 'picked' by the diary because Lucius Malfoy put the book in your cauldron."

Ginny's eyes lit up. "See, that was fate! We are meant to be together!"

Harry almost groaned. Now she was clutching at straws to salvage their relationship. "No," he said in a firm voice. "That was bad luck, and an evil man trying to destroy you and your family."

Ginny reached out to grasp his hands, but he withdrew from her.

"What about fifth year?" She came up with a new argument in favour of their relationship.

Harry shook his head. "We weren't dating in my fifth year, in fact, you had at least two different boyfriends, as I recall. And, yes, you volunteered to come help me and Hermione as we went to the Ministry to try and rescue Sirius, but that doesn't make us lovers. We barely dated during sixth year, and I broke up with you before I left last summer."

Ginny pouted, then she gave him a blinding smile. "Yes, yes, but now we can be together."

Harry's stomach hardened. He pinched his lips together and suppressed the urge to swear loudly. Merlin, hadn't she listened to one word he said? He took another deep breath. "You want to be with someone, but not with me. You want Harry the Hero, Harry the Quidditch star, Harry the Defeater of Voldemort." He spoke clearly and slowly, as if talking to a small child, in an attempt not to show his anger and frustration.

Ginny's head flinched back slightly, and she ran a hand through her hair. "So?"

Harry stiffened. Did he just speak in Parselmouth? He couldn't fathom why else she didn't understand. "All I want to be is Harry, and not have to be reminded constantly of what my parents did for me, nor what I had to do for everyone else."

Ginny's eyes darkened, and colour crept into her cheeks. "Wait, now I understand! There's another girl, isn't there? You want to be with Hermione!" The last words came out almost as a scream.

"No, there's no other girl. Not even Hermione. Hermione is my best friend, we're not into each other like that. And you, well, you're my best mate's little sister. You're a friend, a great friend. And you're a huge fan of my titles, but I don't think you really know me." His voice still was calm, and he gave himself an inward slap on the shoulder for staying calm, despite Ginny trying to turn their inevitable break-up into a drama with lots of shouting.

Ginny stared at Harry for a full minute, the colour of her cheeks deepening, and her eyes burning into his.

Harry's stomach gave another uncomfortable twist. Her expression was too bloody similar to when his uncle would get angry with him, although her face was only a little red, not turning a dark purple. This wasn't going to end well for him.

In confirmation of his thoughts Ginny lunged out and slapped him in the face. Hard. With a last, withering glare at him she turned around and ran back into the castle, muttering expletives intermixed with the words "Potter," "wanker," and "complete idiot."

Harry watched her retreating form, absentmindedly stroking his burning cheek. When she disappeared into the castle, he let out a deep breath. "Well, that could have gone worse."

* * *

P&P.p.2

* * *

**Diagon Alley, outside of Gringotts**

Bill Weasley stared at the letter in his hand, a frown on his face. The letter bore the crest of Gringotts and was short and to the point.

Mr. William Weasley,

Your presence is requested for a meeting at Gringotts this afternoon, four p.m.

Grabthar

Head of the Curse Breaker Unit

He and his wife, Fleur, both had lost their jobs at Gringotts due to the war and their lack of availability to show up at work. He hadn't counted on ever interacting with the Goblins once again, apart from anything pertaining to his and Fleur's vault at the bank. The Goblins never forgot - and never forgave - what they perceived as a neglect of duties.

He crumpled the letter in his hand and tossed it into the paper bin. There was no other way to find out what this was all about other than to keep the appointment. He didn't have anything better to do, anyway.

At the appointed time he walked into the bank and was promptly escorted into a small room. He'd just sat down when his former manager, Grabthar, walked into the room.

"Ah, Weasley, you came," Grabthar snarled and sat down opposite of Bill.

"Of course, sir, but I do not know the meaning of this visit," Bill said with a respectful nod. Good manners never hurt when acting with Goblins, so much he had learned during his years as a curse breaker for Gringotts.

"A simple task is all we ask of you," said the Goblin. "Just deliver this message to a wizard, someone you know, and you and your wife will have your jobs back."

The breath caught in Bill's throat. A simple delivery in exchange for his and Fleur's jobs, that sounded almost too easy. Where was the catch? "What kind of message?" he asked.

"It is a simple request for a wizard to come and meet with Ragnok, that is all."

Bill raised an eyebrow. Ragnok was the head goblin of Gringotts, he didn't deal with simple wizards. Whoever it was Ragnok wanted to talk to had to be rather high up in the food chain. "Ragnok? Who is this message for?"

"Harry Potter."

Bill sat straight. Not a simple message, then, given the Goblins still had a score to settle with Harry for his break-in at Gringotts. Merlin grant that they did not know that he and Fleur had housed Harry, Ron and Hermione just prior to their successful attempt to break in to the bank. "Just deliver the message, that's all?" he asked, not able to keep the suspicion out of his voice. Their jobs be damned, he wouldn't let the Goblins turn him into a means to take their revenge on Harry.

Grabthar handed Bill a small scroll. "Yes. That is all, and no, the message is not cursed. Just a request for the wizard in question to attend a meeting. Goblin's honour."

Bill bit his lip. Goblins were honourable, yes, but it was their own special brand of honour. Even if Grabthar swore they only wanted a meeting with Harry, there was no saying they wouldn't turn it into a trial. Then again, Harry was the Saviour of the Magical World, even the Goblins were thankful to him for ridding them of that pest Voldemort. They might ruffle him a bit, but they wouldn't kill him, they were too shrewd to risk the wrath of the wizards and witches.

"With Ragnok?" Bill questioned once again.

"Are you going deaf? Too many accidents with curse breaking? Are you not qualified for returning to your work, Mister Weasley?" snarled Grabthar.

He had to make a decision. Oh well, beggars couldn't choose, he and Fleur needed their jobs to make a living. "No, no problems with returning to work," said Bill as he took the scroll. "And no problems with delivering this message. I'll see to it right away."

* * *

P&P.p.3

* * *

**Ministry of Magic**

"Percy Weasley," called out Bartholomew Belby.

Percy stepped up to the desk where the wizard who had summoned him was sitting. Percy was working for the ministry once again, but mostly as an aide, running errands for all sorts of department heads. Now he had been summoned to the Wizengamot offices. "What can I do for you, Mr. Belby?"

"You need to deliver a message," said Belby. "I've been told that your family is quite close to Harry Potter."

"Yes, we are, but why not send an owl?" Percy furrowed his eyebrows. Harry had done a lot for the wizarding world, but surely he wasn't that important that messages needed to be hand-delivered to him.

"Owls are scarce, and it was determined by someone higher than me that this needs to be delivered in person, and you have been identified as that person. Good day, Weasley." He handed the rolled parchment to the young wizard.

Thus dismissed, Percy had no other choice than to take the parchment and leave the office.

* * *

P&P.p.4

* * *

**3 June 1998**

**Hogwarts, Great Hall.**

Harry arrived early to the Great Hall for breakfast. Only a few members of the repair crew were up this early, and he sat down at the almost empty Gryffindor table, thankful to be able to enjoy some peace and quiet before the demands of the day. He'd actually had a decent night's sleep, too, the first in a long while. Probably that was due to him no longer stressing about his relationship with Ginny.

He hadn't seen Ginny since she ran off, most likely she was hiding somewhere and licking her wounds. He sighed as he reached for the tea pot; he'd never meant to hurt her, and he refused to feel guilty over the break-up. The decision had to be made, or they both would have become exceedingly unhappy in the long run. He filled his cup, put down the tea pot, and looked up.

Bill Weasley and his younger brother Percy stood in the door of the Great Hall. They both looked around as if searching for someone. When Bill's eyes fell on him, he nudged his younger brother and pointed into Harry's direction. The next moment they made their way directly towards where he was sitting.

Harry's stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. Bugger! Now he knew where Ginny had been hiding, didn't he? She'd run to the Burrow and sicced her big brothers on him to take him to task. He took a deep breath and squared himself for the uncomfortable confrontation. No matter what Ginny had told them, and no matter how angry the Weasleys were at him, he wouldn't change his mind.

"Good morning, Harry," Percy proclaimed loudly. He planted himself in front of Harry, his chest stuck out and his standing tall.

The way he held himself and looked down at him reminded Harry of Lucius Malfoy, and the palms of his hands became moist.

"'Morning, Harry." Bill greeted him with an easy smile.

He didn't have the appearance of a man who was out for his blood. The squirming of Harry's stomach lessened somewhat. He gave them a cautious upwards glance, he'd better not yet let his defences down. "Good morning to both of you. What brings the two of you to Hogwarts so early?"

Percy threw his shoulders back and produced a scroll out of the pocket of his immaculate robes with a grand gesture. "The Ministry of Magic has requested that I hand deliver this message to you, Harry." He handed over the scroll with another pompous motion and gave a slight bow.

Harry took the scroll from his hand, careful not to let his relief show on his face. So, this wasn't about Ginny, but about something the Ministry of Magic wanted from him. Probably another self-important department head asking for the presence of the Saviour of the Magical World at some event that was designed to make himself look good. He'd had dozens of them ever since the Battle of Hogwarts and declined them all.

Bill looked down at his younger brother with a raised eyebrow and shook his head. "A little over the top with the dramatics there, Percy, aren't we?" Then he turned to face Harry. "Gringotts bank has asked me to deliver a message to you as well." He removed the scroll from inside his robes and handed it to Harry, forgoing any of the dramatic flair his brother had shown.

A jolt went through Harry, and he gaped. A message from Gringotts? There was only one topic he could think of the goblins would like to discuss with him - his break-in into the bank. The repercussions had not yet been settled, at least not that he knew; he'd made a point to stay as far away from Gringotts as possible ever since the end of the war. The squirming of his stomach returned with a vengeance.

The two scrolls in his hands, Harry gulped and closed his gaping mouth. He looked up at the two Weasley brothers, clearing his throat. "What is all this about?"

Bill answered first. "The goblins have a request of you, Harry. You need to read the scrolls, it's all in there."

"Yes, what Bill said," added Percy, "read the scroll. It should be self explanatory once you do."

That did nothing to quiet down his squirming stomach. At least neither one of these messages had anything to do with Ginny, thank Merlin for small blessings. Had Ginny even told her family that he had broken up with her?

The two Weasley men still looked down at him with expectant expressions on their faces.

His cheeks became warm. "Yeah, right." He first unrolled one of the scrolls; it happened to be the one from Bill, and his random choice brought a pout to Percy's face.

With a mental head shake Harry scanned the document. What a git! He read the words, and again his stomach seemed to lead a life of its own. He looked up at Bill. "I have to meet with Ragnok, the head of the bank? Later today?"

Bill nodded. "I was told that Ragnok was requesting a meeting with you. However, they did not tell me the specifics."

Yes, his stomach definitely was an entity of its own. Harry squelched the slight feeling of nausea. "I can't meet with them today, I've volunteered to help with the repairs of the castle, and as it is Hogwarts needs every capable wand to be ready in time for the next school year," he said.

"It is not a request, Harry, but an appointment that has been made," said Bill. "To not show up would be considered rude at best, a personal slight and an offence to the goblin nation."

"I'd better go in that case, I wouldn't want to offend anyone," said Harry honestly. Or make his situation any worse than it already was with the goblins. His heartbeat sped up. What were the goblins going to do with him? Somehow, he doubted they'd summoned him to that meeting to give him the goblin equivalent of the Order of Merlin for his defeat of Voldemort.

He shook off the morose thoughts before he would begin to panic.

Percy already bounced on his heels, his hands clasped behind his back, and growing impatience with waiting on Harry evident on his face.

He'd better appease the pompous git before he was in for another lecture of disregarding the authority of the Ministry, or other rubbish like that. Harry unrolled the scroll and read the short message.

This is to inform you, Harry James Potter, that you have been granted the titles of Lord Potter and Lord Black.

What?!

Harry read the message once again. The words didn't change.

He raised his head, a frown on his face. "It says here I'm Lord Potter and Lord Black. When did this happen?"

Percy gave a start and made a face as if he'd swallowed a lemon. "It should have happened when you turned seventeen." he said in a stiff tone.

"Probably as you were on the run last year, the ministry had no way to contact you," said Bill. "Nor did they have any desire last year to let you know about this, either, considering You Know Who was in control."

"Well, now, what do I do?" asked Harry. That was just what he needed, another two titles on top of all the silly monikers he had already gained during his short life.

"I would make sure you are at Gringotts this afternoon, at the appointed time," said Bill with emphasis.

Percy swallowed hard. "Well, you need to claim your titles. This would be done at the Wizengamot office." He turned and gave a smirk to his brother before he turned back to Harry and added with a forced smile, "You can go there at your leisure."

Harry turned to Bill. "Do I need to claim these titles before I go to Gringotts?"

"I'm not sure how much it matters, to be honest," said Bill.

Percy stood up straighter and puffed out his chest. "The title of Lord of two different houses would hold a lot of weight within the wizarding world. Particularly when they are both old and historically powerful houses. Perhaps you should make sure you have those titles prior to any meeting with the goblins."

Harry nodded in response to Percy's words. That made sense, and he would probably need any advantage he could get with the goblins. "Well, I guess I will have to head there this morning so I won't be late to my meeting with Ragnok."

Percy smiled slightly and gave another bow to Harry. "Very well, Harry, I shall now return to my work at the Ministry of Magic."

Harry and Bill watched Percy strut out of the Great Hall.

"Is he really all that important at the ministry now?" Harry asked.

Bill grinned. "I doubt it, but he feels too good about himself for some reason." He sobered. "I hope things go well with you at your meeting today, Harry. It must be very important, or you would not be meeting with Ragnok himself. Probably this has to do with what you and Ron and Hermione did just before the end of the war."

"Probably," agreed Harry. He took a deep breath. Why couldn't Bill and Percy just have come to give him a grilling about his break-up with Ginny? That would have been far easier than what he was facing now. Aloud he said, "I just hope they can be forgiving, I doubt they want to award me some sort of medal."

Bill snorted, though it didn't sound happy. "Goblins are not known for being forgiving."

Harry's stomach gave another lurch, Bill had just confirmed his apprehension. "No, I didn't think so." He raised an eyebrow at Bill. "So, why were you the one to deliver this message to me?"

"You've heard that Fleur and I had both lost our jobs?" Bill asked, and Harry nodded.

"Well, I was called in and my former boss told me we could have our jobs back if all I did was hand deliver this message to you. I hope you don't mind. Someone was going to have to give you the message. Believe me Harry, I do hope it all works out for you. I really do."

He gave a small wave goodbye to Harry, turned and left the Great Hall.

Harry stared after him, his apprehension of the meeting at Gringotts eating at him.

* * *

P&P.p.5

* * *

Ron Weasley was sitting at the kitchen table of The Burrow and munched on a sandwich of gargantuan dimensions, a broad grin on his face. Life was good, Minister Shacklebolt had offered him the option to attend Auror School, even though he hadn't the N.E.W.T.s to show for it. Now, why should he? He was Ron Weasley, he had helped Harry in their quest to defeat Voldemort, so that was his due, wasn't it? After all, a hero deserved a reward.

He tore off another chunk of his sandwich. Harry had joined the rebuilding crew at Hogwarts, and Hermione planned on returning for her seventh year. He, however, had no intention of returning to Hogwarts if he didn't have to.

He, Ron Weasley, was famous, he gained lots of attention and recognition, even if only for being friends with the Boy Who Lived. He could walk into a bar, and as soon as he was recognised someone would buy him a drink. Or two...

He shoved the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth. Hopefully, Auror School wouldn't be too hard. Then again, he was a hero, they'd think twice before chucking him out.

He eyed the cold cupboard. Still two more hours until dinner. Maybe he should prepare himself another sandwich to last that long.

He was just about to get up, when the Floo flared, and a tear-streaked Ginny stumbled out.

"Ginny, what happened?"

She threw herself right into his arms. "Your prick of a best friend dumped me. He might deny it, but I'm sure he's got something going with another girl, that two-timing bastard!"

* * *

P&P.p.6

* * *

**Gringotts Bank**

Harry arrived at Gringotts with time to spare for his meeting with Ragnok. His meeting at the Ministry of Magic had been brief, even though he had to sign a veritable mountain of forms until his right hand hurt, and then he had to listen to a long-winded lecture about his responsibilities to the Wizengamot. He'd need to seek advice about how to deal with being a lord, but that was a headache for another time. His heart beat fast as he entered the bank, and he dried the moist palms of his hands at the sides of his robes. What would the goblins do with him? At least the guards didn't apprehend him as he walked into the bank, and he relaxed somewhat.

As soon as he had entered the lobby, a goblin approached him. "Arriving on time, if not a little early for your meeting, Mister Potter." The goblin snarled. "It seems at least someone taught you to mind your manners. Follow me!" He whirled around and marched deeper into the bank, and not once looked over his shoulders to make sure if Harry kept up with him.

Harry followed the goblin, who had not even deigned to introduce himself, with a sinking heart. This start didn't bode well for his meeting with Ragnok.

Soon they entered a large room with one large glossy-black chair in the middle, an even larger throne on a dais at the front of the room, and a couple of tables with stacks of parchment arranged around the chair in the middle. The goblin motioned Harry to the black chair in the centre of the room.

Harry took a closer look at the chair. It seemed to be made of a highly polished, black stone that shimmered like glass. Obsidian, if he wasn't mistaken. The seat was covered with intricate runes. What would the runic chair do to him if he sat in it? What were the magical properties of obsidian, and how could they be enhanced by runes? He had no idea about the latter, never having taken Ancient Runes, but he should know the answer to the first question from studying the magical properties of potion ingredients. However, the answer eluded him.

The goblin made an impatient sound at the back of his throat and once again motioned towards the chair. Harry understood, the goblin was not making a polite request, he was ordering him to take a seat.

Once he sat down, the door opened again. Harry looked over his shoulder; about a dozen elderly goblins came in and sat in the chairs behind the tables, and he hurried to get up from his chair and greet them with a polite nod.

They didn't acknowledge his courtesy, but exchanged meaningful glances with raised eyebrows.

Once the goblins were seated, a horn blew and the goblins all rose to their feet and snapped to attention. Was the horn announcing the arrival of Ragnok? Well, it wouldn't hurt to be polite to the goblin who probably held his fate in his hands, so Harry followed suit.

Six goblin guards armed with poleaxes marched from a hidden door onto the dais. They split into groups of three and planted themselves to the left and right in front of the throne-like chair. The horn sounded again, then a goblin in golden armour walked in, followed by another six goblin guards who looked as fierce as the first group and planted themselves to the left and right behind the throne-like chair.

Thus properly guarded, the goblin clad in the gold armour walked up to the throne, sat down, and removed the golden helm from his head, which he placed on a cushion on a small table next to the throne. Not sooner than he had done this the goblins all sat down.

Harry followed their example, his heart beating in his throat. If this performance was a demonstration of power meant to intimidate him, it had worked. The glistening blades of the poleaxes looked as if they could chop off the head of an offending wizard with one strike, and the goblin guards who held them gave the impression they would relish the experience.

At the table to the left of Harry, a goblin stood up. "We are gathered here today, in the presence of Ragnok the Second, the Most High Goblin, King of the Nether Realms, Director of Gringotts Bank, to hear the charges against the wizard Harry James Potter."

The goblin sat down, and another goblin stood up at the table opposite to the first goblin's. He unrolled a scroll of parchment and read, "Harry James Potter, you are charged with theft and destruction of property from the Lestrange Family Vault. Additionally, you are charged with trespass, theft of Gringotts bank property, deception of Gringotts bank employees, and damage to Gringotts bank property." He sat down.

Harry's stomach dropped. So, his apprehensions had been well grounded, the goblins were going to put him on trial for the break-in. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, if this was a trial, he could try to explain what he did and why he had to do it.

Behind him, a chair scratched across the floor, and he turned around.

A third goblin stood up and also unfolded a parchment. "Having been tried in absentia on the 25th of May, according to the calendar of the Ministry of Magic, Harry Potter has been found guilty of all charges against him."

An arrow of ice seemed to penetrate Harry at these words, and he froze. How could that be? He didn't know of a court appointment on that day, as surely as Merlin was a wizard he didn't get a summons for that. What kind of justice was that?

Goblin justice, Bill's voice said in the back of his mind.

Silence descended onto the room, the goblins all stared at Harry. His armpits became damp. Should he say something in his defence? But what? It seemed pointless, anyway, the verdict was already spoken.

A fourth, rather young goblin stood up, this time from the end of the row of tables to his left side.

Harry's eyes went wide. Now he'd hear what would become of him. He cast a surreptitious side glance at the stony-faced goblins to his left. Whatever they had planned, it wasn't good. Everything inside of him went ice cold as his eyes followed the fourth goblin march to the base of the throne, a scroll of parchment clutched in his long-fingered hand. Despite the coldness a drop of sweat rolled down his back.

The young goblin stopped, bowed deeply before Ragnok, and said something in a language that Harry did not understand, neither could he make out any words, the goblin spoke in such a low voice. Ragnok replied with what seemed to be a question for the young goblin, for the young goblin shook his head. With an impatient gesture Ragnok called the goblin forth. The goblin handed him the parchment, turned, and ran back to his table.

Ragnok examined the parchment for a long time. His expression did not let on if whatever stood on that parchment was going to help Harry's cause or was going to condemn him even more in the eyes of the goblin nation. At length, Ragnok stood up and walked towards Harry.

"You are Harry James Potter?" he asked.

Harry gulped and answered through dry lips, "Yes, sir, I am Harry James Potter."

"Harry James Potter is guilty of trespass, theft, deceiving the goblins at the bank, damage to bank property, theft of bank property," said Ragnok. He looked around at the other goblins, who murmured their assent, before his eyes landed on Harry again. They held more than a hint of steel when he opened his mouth and said, "The penalty of these crimes includes a death sentence."

A fist seemed to punch Harry's gut, the coldness intensified, and everything around him all of a sudden seemed to be unnaturally clear and bright. That it was, his fate was sealed.

His body became limp, and he pulled himself together with almost superhuman effort. He'd be damned if he turned into a whining mess in front of the goblins!

Ragnok cleared his throat. "However, our records indicate that Harry James Potter has died, that he died after these events took place, and the penalties are null and void."

Murmurs of disbelief ran around the tables where the other goblins were seated. Ragnok raised a hand, and the murmurs died down. He fixed his stare on Harry. "Why is that? Explain to me, explain to my people, how can this be?"

Harry swallowed hard and flicked his tongue across his dry lips. "Um, I did die?" It sounded more like a question than an answer.

Ragnok tilted his head to the side, as if pondering Harry's words. He shook his head and waved his arms wide in front of Harry. "Impossible, isn't it? Yet you are here, standing before us, while our records state that you have died. How can that be? Our records are never wrong."

Harry bit his lips. How was he supposed to respond? Should he tell the tale of the events of the night he defeated Voldemort, how the killing curse was cast upon him once again and he had survived against all odds because of the long chain of mistakes Voldemort had made in regards to him?

No, that was classified information, besides him, Ron and Hermione only Kingsley knew, and he had taken an unbreakable vow never to reveal that knowledge without Harry's assent. And yet, there was something inside of him that urged him to spill out everything in one rush. Was that the doing of the rune-covered chair? He clamped his mouth together and bit on his tongue to prevent himself from talking.

The third goblin, the one seated behind Harry, stood up again and cleared his throat. "Actually, your highness, this is Lord Harry Potter-Black."

Ragnok furrowed his eyebrows and gave Harry a long, hard stare. "You're a man of many surprises, Mr Potter, or Lord Potter-Black, I'd rather say. Did you not enter our bank on the first of May, taking with you an item from the Lestrange vault, taking with you our dragon, our vault guardian? Then how is it that you are dead, yet you are here? How is it that you are Harry James Potter, but now are Lord Potter-Black?"

He had to answer that question, silence would drag him even further into disaster. Merlin help him he wouldn't spill out everything.

"It is a long story, but I will try to be brief," Harry said. He tried to speak slowly, to think before he gave anything away. However, whatever that damned chair was meant to do, it worked. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he fought an already lost battle. The dam broke, and the words rushed out of his mouth.

"I was killed by Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts. I know the break-in was wrong, but to defeat Voldemort we needed to get an item from the vault, an item that was needed to be destroyed so that he would become mortal, so that he could be killed. After we had destroyed almost all of his items that kept him immortal, he cast the killing curse at me again, just like he did when I was an infant. I died, or at least I think I died, but I was given the choice by magic to return. It gets kind of complicated after that. I returned to the land of the living, and my friend, Neville Longbottom, destroyed the final piece holding Voldemort to this plane. In the end the monster died of his own rebounding Killing Curse when we duelled at Hogwarts."

He leaned back in the obsidian chair, breathing heavily, and wiped the sweat from his brow. Damn these nosy little buggers, if only they wouldn't ask for details about the items Voldemort had used, he wouldn't be able to keep the truth about the Horcruxes from them.

Ragnok's eyes became wide, he stared at Harry, then at the rune-covered chair, under the surprised whispers of the other goblins in the chamber. "One cannot speak lies while seated on the Chair of Truth," he said at length. Something like awe flickered across his face.

He looked down once again at the parchment in his hand. "It would seem that Goblin magic does not hold you guilty." A grumble escaped his throat. "You, Lord Harry Potter-Black, are free to go."

There was the sound of a goblin clearing his throat, and the entire chamber turned to face the young goblin who had handed the parchment to Ragnok earlier.

"Yes, youngling, what is it now?" asked Ragnok. His voice sounded impatient.

"This is an updated list of the vaults which Lord Potter-Black has at his disposal," said the young goblin. He held up another parchment. "Since Lord Potter-Black is already here, we should discuss the matters concerning his holdings with him, the Potter holdings as well as the Black holdings have been dormant and neglected for far too long."

Ragnok chuckled. "I agree, unfortunately, the Potter and Black account managers both have passed on, so you who are so bold, you will be Lord Potter-Black's account manager, until he tires of you." He made a gesture that dismissed everyone in the room, walked back to his throne, and grabbed his helm which he tucked under his arm. Flanked by his guards, Ragnok left the chamber.

The other goblins also left the room until Harry was left with only the young goblin, who introduced himself as Gandor. "It seems, Lord Potter-Black, that your good fortune today has become my good fortune."

"So it would seem." Harry smiled down at the young goblin and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Gandor."

Gandor gaped down at the offered hand, then caught himself. "I'm honoured, Lord Potter-Black," he said and shook Harry's hand.

Harry grimaced. "Scratch that Lord Potter-Black nonsense, will you? It will take me ages to answer to that name. I'm Harry, alright?"

"Right, Harry then," Gandor said, and a faint blush crept into his cheeks. He gestured for Harry to sit down next to him at the table. "Let's begin with the basics. We ought to review the value of the vaults you possess and the specific items that may be held in those vaults. Once we have established all of that, we will need to discuss investment opportunities, as I am sure that you do not desire that any of your vaults remain stagnant."

Harry smiled at the eager young goblin. "We can start by reviewing the vaults, and then we shall see. It seems that I may need to be working with you quite a bit going forward."

Gandor's eyes twinkled in response to what Harry had said.

Harry took a seat across from the goblin who pushed a parchment to him.

"It is quite clear that you have many vaults which you can access," Gandor said. "They are, as listed, the Potter family vault, the Potter trust vault, the Black family vault, the Peverell family vault, the Gaunt family vault, the Slytherin family vault, as well as the Lestrange family vault."

Harry's eyes went wide as he looked at the parchment. He blinked, shook his head, and took another look. "These numbers here next to the vaults, do they indicate just how much wealth the particular vault holds?"

Gandor shook his head. "Oh, no, Lo... uh, Harry. That is just the value of the Galleons and Knuts and Sickles, the number does not include the value of any gems or other items within the vaults. That's one of the things we still need to find out. We can tour the vaults at your pleasure and do an inventory."

Harry stared at the parchment. "So, does this mean I'm rich?"

Gandor pressed his thin lips together as if to hold back his laughter. "Perhaps one of the richest wizards in the world, Harry. We also will need to check the vaults to see which property deeds may be found there as well. I can have a full accounting of the first three vaults within the week. I am not sure how long the others will take to evaluate."

Harry grinned at the goblin. "Brilliant! Can I pick up some galleons now? I feel like a steak-and-kidney pie at the Leaky."

* * *

P&P.p.7

* * *

Harry sat at the kitchen table of Grimmauld Place number twelve, his arms propped up on the table top, and his hands buried in his hair. He had been able avoid the death penalty from the goblins because he had already died, at least according to magic. That not enough, he was now a lord, too, of not just one, but two bloody houses. He was rich and had plenty of gold to spare. He heaved a big sigh, that was a lot to take in.

He needed to learn about being a lord, he needed to learn about the wizarding world in a way he had never done before. Who could teach him what he needed to know?

Certainly not Hermione, she was a stranger in this world, too, and he'd relied on her too much in the past. It was about time he stood on his own feet.

Luna?

A snort escaped him, no matter how sweet dear Luna was, for what he needed she'd be the worst teacher possible. So were the Weasleys; Mr Weasley might be held in high esteem at the Ministry, but he doubted he had a clue about managing vaults and estates, or what to do on the Wizengamot. His break-up with Ginny made it impossible to ask any of the Weasleys, anyway.

Come to think about it, there was only one person he could turn to. He got up and called through the Floo from Grimmauld Place to Longbottom Manor.

Three minutes later Harry sat at a table in an impromptu meeting with Neville and Neville's grandmother.

He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Neville. "You're a lord, or are about to be. You've grown up knowing you would become a lord. I know almost nothing about magical society and definitely nothing about being a lord, other than Sirius didn't want anything to do with his title and Lucius Malfoy was a pompous ass."

"Do not fear, Harry," said Augusta Longbottom. "I made sure that Neville's father understood what it meant to be a lord, and I will make sure that the both of you will learn your proper place in our society. After all, you would have grown up as brothers if it hadn't been for that… that Riddle fellow and his band of followers."

Neville and Harry exchanged a grin at her words.

She shook her head and gave them a stern look down her nose, although the twitching of her mouth gave her away. "Don't grin, you both have a lot to learn, and there will be no fooling around during lesson time. This won't be an easy class like Potions."

That had both young men snort, yet Harry nodded in understanding. His heartbeat sped up, the next weeks and months promised to be exciting.

Augusta stood up to leave the room, but hesitated and addressed her grandson. "You remember your Aunt Elaine and her husband, Donald Woodson?"

Neville nodded, a frown of confusion on his face.

"Elaine was Alice's sister. She and her husband left for France during the first war, before you and Neville were born. After what happened to Frank and Alice, they had no desire to return to England. They have a daughter, Cassandra, who just finished her fourth year at Beauxbatons." Augusta explained for Harry's benefit.

She turned back to her grandson. "They will be coming to stay for a short period of time, they may even return to England after Cassandra finishes her education in France." She gave them a short nod and left the room.

Harry turned to Neville."I didn't know you had relatives in France."

"Well, Gran never really spoke about them very much, and I hardly know them," said Neville with a shrug. "They are from my mum's side of the family, and Gran was not impressed with their decision to leave England, but who will blame them, considering how things were? I guess now that you defeated Vold..., er, Riddle, they are more comfortable with returning to England, at least for a visit."

Harry smiled at Neville. "You have family, a cousin, that's, well, that's great." Was it? In the light of his own experience with relatives Harry wasn't sure, but these relatives were magical, there was hope they wouldn't be as narrow minded as the Dursleys and actually this would be good for his friend.

The two friends agreed to head out to get a bite to eat. They had just left the house when an owl flew towards them in a strangely jerking manner.

Neville shielded his eyes from the sun. "Is that Errol? The Weasley family owl?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's way too small, it must be Pigwidgeon, Ron's runt of an owl who can still barely fly any better than Errol."

Neville turned his head to Harry. "What's it doing here?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess we'll find out soon enough." His answer might be nonchalant, yet he followed the struggles of the bird to reach its destiny with a sinking feeling in his stomach. What if Ginny had vented her hurt and disappointment about the break-up to Ron? He wouldn't put his money on Ron wanting to hear out both parties' concerns before he made a decision and acted on that.

Pigwidgeon got closer, and Neville let out a slight groan. "Uh, oh, it has a red envelope in its tiny talons."

Harry's eyes went wide. Hadn't Ginny turned to Ron, but to Mrs Weasley instead? Was that one of Molly Weasley's infamous howlers that the twins and Ron would receive on occasion at school?

Harry and Neville exchanged a look and both stepped back.

Pigwidgeon made the last few yards, dive-bombed towards Harry, dropped the red envelope on his head and fluttered away as if its tail feathers were on fire.

Harry bent down and picked up the red envelope.

It burst open in his hands.

"Potter! How could you? Already cheating on my sister?" Ron's amplified, angry voice shouted. At least Harry supposed that was the meaning of the strangely distorted words. Had Ron been chewing on something while he spoke? The belch that followed the almost incomprehensible statement confirmed his suspicion. Ron said something completely incoherent, and then the red parchment burst into flames.

Neville looked back and forth from the ashes floating down to the ground and to Harry. "Was that, was that Ron?"

Harry's eyes were still wide eyed. "Um, I think so. The burp was kind of familiar."

Neville continued to stare at the remains of the ashes. "What. Did. You. Do?"

"Well, I broke up with Ginny. I think he was saying something about that. But I have no idea what that howler was really about. I told her I didn't think we would work together. She accused me of having another girlfriend." He looked Neville straight in the eyes. "I've been too busy to have any time for that."

Neville raised his hands. "Hey, it's not me you need to convince, I believe you." He watched the tiny speck of Pigwidgeon disappear. "What is it with Weasleys and howlers?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know mate. Maybe it has to do with their red hair."

* * *

P&P.p.8

* * *

The Woodson family arrived at the Longbottom estate the following week. Harry watched their arrival from the doorsteps.

Neville's Aunt Elaine was a little taller than his mother, based on the pictures he had seen of her. His Uncle Donald was a broad shouldered man with dark brown hair and an easy smile.

Neville's cousin Cassandra, however… Cassandra was tall for a young witch and had long dark hair that cascaded in waves past her shoulders, and her bright grey-blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

Harry let out an inward whistle. It surely didn't hurt to look at Cassandra, if she was half as nice as her looks, this visit was going to be a pleasant one. He had no intention to get himself a new girlfriend so soon after Ginny, he had too much on his plate for that, but hey, he was a not even eighteen year old male, nobody could blame him for looking.

Neville greeted his relatives, with a firm handshake to his uncle and a bow to kiss the hand of his aunt.

"None of that, now, Neville," said his Aunt Elaine. She engulfed him in a hug then held him by his shoulders at arms length. "I'm sure that your mum and dad would be so proud of you. We have read about how you helped Harry Potter win the war." She paused and looked over Neville's shoulder at Harry.

She stepped around Neville and gave Harry a hug and a kiss on his cheeks. "I knew you mother and your father, back in the day, before we moved away. Donald and I were just a year behind your parents. But as Donald here is a muggle-born, he thought, or well, we thought that it would be safest for us to move away from the war that took your parents."

"Er… Nice to meet you." Harry wasn't sure how to respond to this familiar greeting.

Aunt Elaine stepped back and waved to her daughter to come forward. "Neville, Harry, this is my daughter, Cassandra, she recently completed her fourth year at Beauxbatons."

Cassandra stepped forward and gave a curtsey to the two young men. "Cousin, it is wonderful to finally meet you," she said and she inclined her head towards Neville. "And you, too, Lord Potter-Black. I've heard so much about you, and all that you have done. One of my best friends at school is Gabrielle Delacour, although she is a year behind me."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," replied Harry with an inward roll of his eyes. A friend of Gabrielle Delacour? Merlin, hopefully she wouldn't turn out to be another fangirl.

Augusta Longbottom stepped forward, "Now, now, we'll have more time to chat later, let's get you all settled. As it is, the boys need to get back to their studies."

* * *

P&P.p.9

* * *

The visit with the Woodsons was brief, they were nothing like the Dursleys, and everyone got along. Much to Harry's relief Cassandra wasn't acting like a little fan girl and was able to carry on intelligent conversations with the two of them, although she did ask plenty of questions about the details of their exploits and about the Battle of Hogwarts in particular.

However, their visit was just a pleasant break in the summer, after the Woodsons had departed, Augusta Longbottom made good on her promise to teach them everything they needed to know, and it didn't take long that Harry and Neville both wished they had to deal with the easy topics of their school days again, like Potions or Astronomy.

Summer and autumn passed in a blur while Harry and Neville completed their training to become well-educated and well-bred young lords.

At Christmas, Harry and Neville had a small gathering with some of their friends. Hermione came by, as did a few friends from the old Dumbledore's Army group from their fifth year.

Hermione pulled Harry aside to get a chance to catch up with him; he had been so busy with Neville and their training with his grandmother that they had had minimal contact with their group of friends.

"Harry, I've missed you. It's been a busy fall with classes at school, I can't believe that neither you or Neville came back to finish your education. How are you going to take your N.E.W.T.s? You need to be sure you can get a job. What happened between you and Ginny? And with you and Ron? Why aren't the Weasleys here?"

Harry reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Slow down, Hermione, you need to take a breath. I can't reply to any of your questions when you don't even give me a chance."

Hermione's face flushed as she realised she had reverted back to her old habit of trying to get all of her questions answered at once. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to. But you really need to work on your education."

Harry took a deep breath before he replied. "First of all, Neville and I have been working on our education, but not on the sort of things we would ever learn at Hogwarts. You remember I wrote you that we are both Lords of our houses?"

She nodded to that. "Yes, it's so exciting you're going to be a part of the Wizengamot soon, you'll be able to make real change, and you'll-" She ran out of breath and gulped for air.

"Don't forget to breathe, Hermione." Harry chuckled. "Well, then you'll understand that we have certain responsibilities which we need to be prepared for, responsibilities to our families and to the Wizengamot and thus to all witches and wizards in England and Scotland."

Hermione gasped. "Oh, well, yes, I can see how that would be important. But you still won't be ready for taking your N.E.W.T.s, you need to have those tests to get a job."

Harry shook his head. "No, Hermione, actually we don't. Well, we can take our N.E.W.T.s, but we don't have to. Neville plans on taking his N.E.W.T. in herbology. He has no need to take any of them. I don't need to take any N.E.W.T.s."

Hermione's eye went wide. "But Harry, how will you become an Auror without the N.E.W.T.s? You'll have to sit the exam."

"I'm not going to become an Auror."

Hermione gaped. "What?"

"Look, just because I had to take down Riddle doesn't mean I want to make a career out of hunting dark lords. There is so much more I can do, I don't need to be some sort of magical policeman."

Hermione pressed her lips together and lowered her head. "Oh, well, I guess I can see that." The slight quiver in her voice betrayed her disappointment with his decision.

Harry sighed, her fixation on academical education only was somewhat tiring, yet what made her Hermione. "No, you don't." He lowered his voice. "I don't flaunt it, but it will be public knowledge soon enough, I guess. I'm the Lord of house Potter and house Black. That gives me more responsibilities and it also gives me more resources. Hermione, the goblins estimate that I am one of the richest wizards in England. I have to learn to manage my families' wealth, and I will use it for the betterment of others, for our world."

Hermione's eyes widened again, and a tentative smile appeared on her face. "You, you have a plan? You're not just turning your back on your education?"

Harry shook his head. "You know me better than that, Hermione. When have I ever done things the way the magical world wants me to do them?"

Hermione's smile broadened. "Never, I guess. Running after a troll as a first year, facing a basilisk as a second year. You don't wait to be sure you're prepared for anything, you just run headlong into whatever it is you think you need to do for others."

Harry smiled and shrugged in response to her words.

Hermione bit her lip and wrinkled her forehead. "But how are you preparing for this, whatever it is that you are about to do, how will you be able to do these things?"

"Training, education," said Harry. "Neville's grandmother understands the politics of the wizarding world better than anyone else I have met, including Dumbledore. She has been tutoring us, Neville and me, and she has a plan for preparing us to learn more by travelling throughout the Continent to get even more knowledge so we can take care of all of responsibilities to our own families and to the magical society."

Hermione took a half step back. "I never thought about it all that way, Harry."

Harry put a hand on her shoulder. "That's okay, Hermione. You don't have to have an answer for everything. You don't have to know everything. You're a talented and beautiful and caring witch. You probably know more about the principles of magic than anyone. You are driven to succeed for yourself and to use your skills to help others. We just go about helping others in different ways."

Hermione smiled at him, and wiped an unbidden tear from the corner of her eye. "But, what about the Weasleys, what about Ron? Or Ginny?"

Harry took a deep breath. "The Weasleys have been the closest thing to family to me for so long, almost as long as I've known I'm a wizard. Ron was my first friend. But Ginny, she and I were not a good thing. I tried to explain that to her. Unfortunately she didn't see it the way I did. She saw me, probably still sees me as the Boy Who Lived, her childhood hero. She got upset with me, accused me of having cheated on her, of having another girlfriend. Then she ran to Ron, and he actually sent me a howler about the whole thing. We've hardly spoken at all, Ron and me."

There was a distinct growl in his voice when he finished. While he was unhappy that his break-up with Ginny led to another fight with Ron, the childish way his supposed best friend went about the whole affair bothered him even more. You should have thought he'd learned a lesson or two from their fight while they were on the run. Seemed he'd put too much trust into Ron's intellectual and emotional abilities, that ridiculous howler made plain he hadn't changed a bit.

Hermione wiped another tear and stepped forward and gave her friend a big hug.

Harry and Hermione then rejoined their friends in the simple gathering they had for a holiday celebration. Soon, the party was coming to an end, and Hermione thanked Harry for taking the time to explain to her what he and Neville were undertaking.

"Hermione, you will continue to do what you do well," said Harry. "Don't worry about me, Neville and I have a lot more to learn, but his grandmother will make sure we don't slack off and will be able to lead our families properly."

Neville's grandmother stepped up behind Harry, with a large smile she added, "And don't you young men forget it!"

* * *

P&P.p.10

* * *

As the new year started, Augusta deemed them proficient enough to put to practice what they had learned, and sent them on the journey on the Continent that was tradition for young men of their station and means, she said. During that journey they visited the properties both of them had in various countries scattered all over Europe, and visited the capital cities of each country.

The news that the Champions of Hogwarts, as they were called on the Continent, were taking the Grand Tour together travelled fast, and they were welcomed with open arms wherever they stayed. Augusta had warned them of enterprising mothers and their adventurous daughters, however, her worries turned out to be unnecessary. Both Harry and Neville were too reticent by nature to fall for the traps laid out for them, and without consciously knowing, they were both looking for more than these gold diggers had to offer. Still, they were hot-blooded, young heterosexual men, so nobody could blame them for sampling the goods that were offered that generously.

Harry didn't waste any time wondering what the Dursleys would think about what he was doing or how jealous they would be of his travels, or Ron, for that part. He was too busy enjoying himself and not having to worry about being chased down by Death Eaters.

* * *

**AN: (added 5/30/2020): For clarification:**

**Harry = Mr. Darcy**

**Daphne = Elizabeth**

**Neville = Bingley**

**Astoria = Jane**

**other roles should eventually become more clear as the story unfolds...**


	2. Chapter 1

**July 2002**

_Witch Weekly 's annual edition: _

The Most Eligible Bachelor Wizard

Once again, Lord Harry Potter-Black.

"It has been four years since the war has ended, and the young Lord Potter- Black has been focused on his role within the Wizengamot and he continues to be an active participant in helping to reshape Magical Britain. But to the dismay of many young witches, there does not seem to be any young lady who has caught his eye, as he continues to attend ministry functions and other events without a young witch at his side.

While he does not seem to have a current sweetheart, former classmates of his from his time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are impressed by his new found style in clothes. Many have wondered why he only wore oversized rags when he attended the school despite how wealthy his family background has been.

In previous interviews, the Lord Potter-Black has continued to profess the innocence of his godfather, the notorious Sirius Black who was originally believed to have been the one who betrayed his parents to the Dark Lord in October of 1981. All that is known about that entire incident is that the Minster of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, has since granted a posthumous pardon for any and all crimes that Sirius Black may have committed.

The Lord Potter-Black has also been busy overseeing the various holdings of the houses he oversees, and from all reports it appears he must be doing quite well for himself. It is rumoured that he is a minor partner in the group that recently purchased Puddlemere United.

But all young witches are aware that it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single wizard in possession of a large fortune and a lordship must be in want of a wife."

Harry tossed the magazine to the side. He considered having his solicitor contact the magazine about this latest article, but there was nothing more than the words he had read and a few pictures taken of him when he attended the most recent Wizengamot session. He consoled himself that he did not have to deal with any malicious press from the Daily Prophet ever since his solicitor had met with the editor of the newspaper as well as with the notorious Rita Skeeter. At least Witch Weekly continued to write about him from a mostly positive perspective, even if every issue speculated about his love life, or the reasons behind his apparent lack thereof.

There were plenty of articles written about Harry and Neville when they spent time on the Continent travelling and learning, starting back in 1999, when Neville's gran had arranged for them to meet with all sorts of leaders within the magical world. Many of those articles were accompanied by pictures of Harry and Neville attending various functions, usually with a young witch on their arms. Harry corrected himself, usually with very attractive young witches on their arms. The European magical newspapers tried to make them out as a pair of playboy heroes, which was the furthest thing from the truth. Harry knew that even The Daily Prophet had started running some of the same stories with the same pictures, so the two of them knew that even back in England that many would have already made up their minds about just what sort of activities they had been up to during their time travelling from France to Italy to Greece to Germany and even Russia.

Gathering his thoughts, Harry called his house elf, Kreacher, who had become quite the asset after the locket had been destroyed and the Dark Lord had been defeated. Kreacher served the Lord Black willingly and flawlessly, much to Hermione's chagrin.

"Kreacher, what is on the schedule for today? Any important meetings?" he asked the house elf.

"No, master," replied Kreacher without a hint of a snarl. "Your schedule has been cleared leading up to the birthday party celebration you are planning for your friend, Lord Longbottom. That is tomorrow night sir. At the Potter Estate, just as you arranged sir."

"Then everything is all set for tomorrow?" he asked, knowing the answer he was bound to receive.

"The food and drinks will be ready, just as you arranged weeks ago. The band will be set up in the afternoon, just as you arranged, weeks ago. The invitations have all been sent out, just as you arranged, weeks ago. The special port key arrival area is already waiting for the guests to arrive, and the floo, of course, is on lock down, just as you have always had it since you opened all of your properties," replied the house elf.

"The decorations?" asked Harry. "You didn't mention the decorations."

"Of course not, master," replied Kreacher. "The other house elves will complete all of the decorating tomorrow morning. You know how they love to be busy for you. The group decided that if they left the decorating to the last minute, then they would be very busy and you, sir, would not be able to help as they would need to concentrate on their elf magic to get it all done right."

Harry smiled at Kreacher. "I should have known what they were up to as they have all been speaking in hushed tones around me."

"Will that be all, Master Harry, sir?" asked the house elf.

"Yes, Kreacher, that will be all. And thank you for staying on top of everything. You have been doing a great job as my personal elf," he added, knowing that Kreacher had learned to appreciate the complements and had grown to accept the lack of punishments.

Kreacher had observed how Harry had become a powerful young wizard, both through the Wizengamot and through his business endeavours. The Black name, although linked with the Potters, had become synonymous with power once again. This renewed power and prestige had given the aged house elf a new lease on life, as he felt healthier and even more magically powerful since he had actually bonded with his master, the Lord Potter-Black.

Harry went back to his study. Grimmauld Place had finally become a home of sorts to him, of course that was after he had the goblins arrange for it to be gutted, and he had allowed Kreacher to oversee the complete rebuilding of the inside. The floor plan overall was very similar, and Kreacher had been given his own room, not just a cupboard in the kitchen. Harry used the various estates he owned to host functions every now and then, such as the upcoming party he was throwing for Neville. Ever since he visited Neville on the afternoon he had learned about his lordships and his wealth, the two had become close friends as Neville was also learning about his new responsibilities as the Lord Longbottom.

Harry reviewed the guest list for the party. Of course he had invited all of their classmates, not just from Gryffindor, but from all four of the houses. Also, he had invited all of the members of the Wizengamot, even the ones in alliances who were in opposition to the views of the Potter-Black-Longbottom block.

* * *

P&P 1.2

* * *

Olivia Greengrass called her daughters into the room overlooking the garden. Daphne and Astoria arrived and sat down across from their mother.

"Now, I'm sure you that you both understand why I called you down to speak with me," began Olivia. "As you know, tomorrow we will be attending the party for Lord Longbottom at the invitation of Lord Potter-Black."

Astoria's eyes lit up. "We're really going to go? I hear that the parties that Lord Potter-Black throws are always the best, the most well attended, everyone who is anyone tries to go."

Daphne rolled her eyes at her younger sister. "Why do you have to act like the blonde all the time? I'm the one with the blonde hair. And no, not everyone goes to those parties. Our family has _never_ been invited before."

"Lord Potter-Black invited all of the members of the Wizengamot to this party," explained Olivia.

"And apparently everyone of Potter and Longbottom's classmates, regardless of what house they were in," added Daphne, not hiding the disgust in her voice.

"And why is that a problem?" asked Astoria.

Daphne closed her eyes and shook her head before replying with a huff. "Potter was always a prat in school. He got away with breaking the rules. Every year he was there he was always up to something. He even managed to get house points for creative ways of breaking the rules." She sighed, then added, "He didn't even have the decency to dress properly when we were at Hogwarts. With all of the money he has, you would have thought that he could have bought proper robes and not wear those ridiculous muggle clothes on the train rides year after year. And now, now that he is somebody on the Wizengamot he flaunts his wealth."

"The papers all say he is nice, and that he doesn't flaunt his money, but he tries to help others. He gives to charities, and to St. Mungo's," replied Astoria.

"Now, now, girls," chided their mother, "don't worry about Lord Potter-Black. And you need to be nice to him, as you must, after all, thank him for inviting us. But this party isn't about him, it's about the young Lord Longbottom. It's his birthday."

"Isn't he dating Hannah Abbott?" asked Astoria.

Daphne shook her had. "I thought you were the one to read the magazines and newspaper. They had a major row several months ago. Something to do with where she worked, and Neville's grandmother not approving. Not sure how they ended up apart, Neville actually grew a backbone when were at school during the year that Potter had apparently run away. Longbottom stood up to the Dark Lord at the Battle of Hogwarts and apparently he even stood up against the Dowager Longbottom."

Astoria smirked at Daphne, "Oh, so the former Ice Queen of Slytherin _does_ notice the boys, _and_ pays attention to the gossip."

"No, I do not," snapped Daphne. Then after a short pause, she added, "But Tracey does. She filled me in on everything."

Olivia Greengrass smiled at her daughters. "You know that trying to keep the family business afloat during the difficult times has drained our family. If one of you two could catch the eye of Lord Longbottom, or one of his friends, that would be quite beneficial to the family."

"Mother," stated Daphne with a tinge of frustration and irritation, "how could you? You always said that we would be allowed to marry for love, that you would not force us into marriage contracts."

"No one is forcing anyone," replied Olivia with a smile. "But if you happened to meet him, and you happened to connect with him, I am only saying that it would benefit the family in the long run. Think of it as permission before anything happens."

Daphne rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I think I may just stay at home tomorrow night."

"You can't," said their mother. "You already replied to Lord Potter-Black that you would be attending. You have to go. You have your own special portkey separate from the one for the rest of the family. After all, you, young lady, were a classmate of the Boy Who Lived."

"Very well, mother," replied Daphne, "but I don't have to enjoy myself." She then stood up and added, "And from everything I have heard, he hates that name, the Boy Who Lived." Then she turned away and proceeded back up to her room.

* * *

P&P 1.3

* * *

**27 July 2002**

Saturday had arrived. While it was three days prior to the birthday for Lord Neville Longbottom, it was the day that was chosen by his best friend, Lord Potter-Black, to host a celebration in his honour.

Hundreds of guests had arrived. Over to the side, behind the refreshments table, Harry was speaking with Neville.

"You know, Harry, this party has been a lot of fun," began Neville. "I can't believe so many people came to my birthday party. But then again, they probably only came because it is one of your parties."

"Nev, don't sell yourself short," said Harry. "You're a popular guy, you're a talented wizard, and you helped end the battle at Hogwarts several years ago. People know you did that. Everyone knows you did that."

Neville smiled in response. "I guess so, but it just seems weird, not being with Hannah anymore."

Harry nodded in response as he put an arm around Neville's shoulders. "I know what you mean, mate. It was strange for a while after I broke up with Ginny. But those things happen at times. So, when you're ready, you just move on."

"Is Ron still mad at you over that?" asked Neville.

"Ron has been living in his own little world. He was mad for awhile, I think, but he has been plenty happy to cash in on his fame from when we defeated Riddle. Honestly, I hardly hear from him lately," said Harry.

"I don't see Ron here tonight," observed Neville.

"Well, he did get an invite. Just as everyone in our year did," said Harry.

"Well, you did invite an awful lot of young witches to my party," stated Neville.

"If Ron was here you know what he would say about that," said Harry. Before Neville could answer, he continued, "Sure are a lot of slimy snakes, Slytherins here. What good could come from a group such as that? Not sure why you even wanted them to come to the party in the first place."

The two laughed together about Harry's quip.

While the two were talking, they did not notice that a couple of young witches had come up to the refreshment table. A tall blonde and an equally tall brunette. The brunette turned to the blonde, "Did you hear that?" she whispered. "Potter just said he's not sure why Longbottom would want to have invited any Slytherins to this party!"

Daphne took her friend Tracey Davis by the elbow and escorted her away from the table of refreshments. She replied in a hushed voice as well. "Figures, Potter always seemed to dislike us Slytherins. Apparently Malfoy offended him when we were just starting at Hogwarts and he has held it against the entire house ever since then."

"Didn't help that he always had Weasley speaking in his ear, telling him how horrid everyone from our house must be," added Tracey. "Although, I wouldn't have thought that Potter would be so completely against people from our house, despite Malfoy and his constant attempts to get him in trouble."

Harry and Neville decided that they ought to be interacting more with their guests, so they moved out into the crowd. The band that Harry had hired had started to play music and some people were heading out onto the dance floor. The two of them noticed a couple of young witches standing to one side.

"Well, there are some pretty witches over there, Neville, why don't you go ask one of them to dance," said Harry.

"I don't know, Harry, they probably don't want to be bothered by someone like me," said Neville.

"Don't sell yourself short, my friend," said Harry. "Remember when we were travelling across the Continent, and almost every week we had a different witch on our arms? Besides, this is _your_ birthday party, you're allowed to have some fun, go on over and talk to them."

Neville shifted for a moment, and then noticed that the witches were looking back at them. One of the witches with wavy brunette hair and light brown eyes made her way over to the two young wizards. She kept her eyes on Neville the entire time.

"Lord Longbottom, would you be up to a birthday dance with a young witch?" she asked.

Neville's face flushed. He shifted on his feet. Harry slapped him on the arm, "Go ahead, Nev, she won't bite, probably."

Neville turned to look at Harry who responded with a broad smile. Neville then turned back to the witch and offered her his arm and headed out to the dance floor with her.

"Obviously you're wondering who I am, what my name is. It's Greengrass, Astoria Greengrass," she said quietly to Neville as they made their way to the dance floor. "I was a couple of years behind you," she added by way of introduction.

Harry watched them make their way and start to dance, swirled the drink in his hand briefly and then stated to no one in particular, "Be wary of young witches who ask you for a dance, my friend."

A woman's voice spoke up from behind him. "And what is that supposed to mean, Potter?"

Harry spun around to come face to face with a beautiful blonde haired witch with eyes which were almost violet in colour. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she drawled, "I suppose I should have said _Lord_ Potter-Black?"

Harry was surprised by the comments and had not realised anything he had said might have been overheard. He shook his head as he continued to stare at her. "I'm sorry, do I even know you? You do look familiar. We must have been at school together. Oh, hold on a moment. You're Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass. I don't think we've ever been properly introduced. It's not like I had many friends or acquaintances from your house. Slytherin, right?"

She glared at him. "No, we all must have been slimy snakes, not worth your time," she snapped.

Harry shifted uneasily on his feet and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I didn't really have much time or cause to get to know too many people from your house. Although for some reason, Malfoy seemed _overly_ interested in me."

Tracey Davis came up beside her friend. "It's okay Daphne, we don't need to bother our host. I'm sure we can find people more willing to talk to our kind somewhere else. The hall is pretty big, after all."

Before Harry could say anything further the two witches turned and walked away.

Harry stared after them and wondered to himself, "What in Merlin's name was that all about? Some people sure have attitudes that need working on." Shaking his head slightly he turned and made his way around the room speaking to more of his guests.

He was soon cornered by a couple of his old housemates, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas.

"Hey, Harry, nice little place you have here," said Seamus as he clapped Harry on the back.

Dean rolled his eyes at his friend. "You've been to parties here before, don't act like you haven't."

Harry smiled at the two. "It's good to see you two. How are you both doing?"

"Fine, mate, just fine," said Seamus as he was taking sips from his bottle of Butterbeer. "Been working for the family business back in Ireland, so, busy all the time."

Before Harry could say anything further, Seamus' attention was drawn to a young witch on the other side of the hall. "There's a pretty young witch over there, even has red hair, I think I'll go chat her up." And then just as quickly as Harry had run into him, Seamus was gone.

Harry turned to Dean with a question. "What exactly is Seamus' family business?"

Dean shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands up. "Damned if I know, he never actually talks about it. He never said anything about it while we were in school, and even over the past several years it has still been nothing."

Harry and Dean shared a laugh over the mystery of their Irish friend before Harry was catching up with Dean about what he had been up to since the war ended. Dean had returned to Hogwarts, and had been able to get an apprenticeship with a solicitor. There were more and more opportunities opening up within the wizarding world for half-bloods and muggle born since the end of the war. Legislation that Harry had helped to get passed also made things better for them.

"You know, Dean," said Harry as they stood against a wall and continued their conversation, "I had the strangest conversation a short while ago with Greengrass and her friend, Davis, I think it was, both from our class."

"A couple of nice looking Slytherins if you ask me," said Dean with a wink.

"Yeah, well, I suppose," said Harry. "The thing is, they accepted my invitations to Neville's birthday party, but they seemed to think I didn't want them here."

"Two simple lessons you should have learned by now, mate," said Dean. "First, they're women, never try to understand women. Second, they're Slytherins. Never try to understand Slytherins. And if they're truly from the house of snakes, they will have cunning and ambition on their side and they won't want you to have any idea what they're really thinking."

Harry tilted his head and then gave Dean a smile. "Too true, my friend, too true."

Harry and Dean chatted for a little while longer, then Dean moved on to catch up with Seamus again who had apparently been rebuffed by the red headed witch.

Finding himself by himself again, Harry looked around the ball and noticed that Neville was still dancing with Astoria Greengrass. It was also quite apparent that Neville had a large smile on his face.

A woman's voice behind him caused Harry to jump slightly.

"So, the all famous Lord Potter-Black is too important to dance at the very party he throws for his best friend?"

Harry turned around to see who was questioning him and he came face to face with Tracy Davis. He then noticed that she was still accompanied by Daphne Greengrass.

"Actually, Miss Davis," said Harry in reply, "it is out of respect for the toes and feet of many young women that I have chosen not to dance. My skill at dancing was legendary at Hogwarts, or perhaps my lack of dancing skills was the legendary part of that." Harry decided not to bring up all the experience and lessons he had in dancing during his travels through Europe with Neville.

Daphne couldn't hold back a laugh at his words. Quickly she covered her mouth with her hands and almost as quickly she had schooled her features from a smile to a stern look. "Then on behalf of the fairer toes here tonight I suppose we should thank you." Then, without another word, she turned and walked away.

Tracey Davis looked at her friend and then back at Harry. "Do you always have this kind of effect on witches? Scaring them away all the time. Or is that something you reserve for those of us who were slimy snakes at school?"

Before Harry could even consider a reply Davis had also walked away from him.

Harry shook his head as he watched her walk away. "They're a bit loony, they are."

After the party had ended Harry and Neville sat at a table in the now empty hall. The house elves were busily cleaning up everything from the ball. Harry noticed a grin on his friend's face.

He wagged his eyebrows at his friend, "So, Nev, did you have an enjoyable birthday party?"

Neville smiled broadly at the question. "Erm, yeah, I did."

"You seemed to spend most of the night with the younger Greengrass witch," said Harry. "Planning on seeing her again?"

"Oh, yeah, well, I hope so," said Neville, flushing a little in his cheeks. "She was really nice, and she is a really good dancer. Merlin, she even has an interest in herbology!"

"Careful, Neville," warned Harry. "We don't really know anything about her, other than her family name and that she was a Slytherin."

"Her father is on the Wizengamot," said Neville.

"Yes, I've seen Lord Greengrass there at some of the sessions we have been at. He has seemed passably interested in some of our proposals."

"I haven't seen him associated with Nott or any of the darker families," added Neville.

"But still, we still don't really know anything about the house of Greengrass. Just be careful my friend, be careful."

Neville laughed slightly, "Of course, I treat women like making a potion. I need to be very careful or something will likely blow up in my face."

* * *

P&P 1.4

* * *

**Friday 03 August, 2002**

Hermione knew that Harry had been working on supporting legislation that would improve the conditions for many within the magical world, particularly werewolves and Veela, who were currently classified as creatures within the Ministry of Magic laws. From her position within the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures she had been able gather information to share with Harry. As she had worked many long hours in her position, she had suggested to Harry during one of their meetings that week that they should get together on Friday evening.

Harry considered her offer, and as he had been busy throughout the week between his meetings with her and his meetings with Gandor, he decided that it seemed like a nice diversion.

"So, where are you planning on meeting up?" asked Harry.

Hermione smiled brightly at the idea of Harry joining her for something other than work. "I'm meeting with some of the people I spend my lunch breaks with. We'll be going to the new pub on Diagon Alley, The Happy Hippogriff."

Harry's eyes lit up at the name of the pub. One of the things that he had been working on with Gandor was the promotion of businesses within the magical world. Through a company that was not obviously connected with Harry, PP&M Investments, he had arranged to create loans for business startups that appeared to be worthwhile. "Sounds interesting," said Harry.

"Great, so we'll see you at half past 5," she said and gave him a slight hug before heading off to another meeting.

Harry arrived at Diagon Alley at about 4 in the afternoon. He wanted to take a look at how the Alley had progressed over the past year. He was pleased to see that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was doing well. Across the street from there was a new clothing store, specializing in casual clothes. There was a new apothecary that was selling potion ingredients as well as potions. The Happy Hippogriff was a little farther down the alley. Harry noticed that there was a new bookstore. He was surprised that he had not heard Hermione speak about it yet, considering he knew that the owners of Thompson's Tomes had opened several months prior, and they included muggle books and newspapers in addition to the magical books. The store even had a section of books about the Muggle world for magicals, and books about the magical world for those who were Muggle born.

After meandering around the store for some time, he realized he had been there longer than he had originally intended. Noticing that it was now closer to 5:45 pm he made his way to the Happy Hippogriff.

As he walked into the pub he saw Hermione seated at a table to one side, with a couple of witches facing her with their backs to him. Harry made his way through the crowd, delighted to see that the new establishment seemed to be having a successful start. He walked over to the table, gave Hermione a side hug and moved to sit in the vacant chair next to her. He then noticed that her two companions were Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis. The two witches were not able to completely hide their frowns upon seeing Harry join them at the table.

"Miss Greengrass, Miss Davis," said Harry with a grin after steeling himself from his initial surprise at seeing the two former Slytherins. "How are you two this fine evening?"

Daphne gave a silent glare at Hermione for a fraction of a second upon realizing that Harry Potter-Black was her friend who was joining them.

"We're just fine," said Tracey although she barely managed to smile at him.

Harry tried to not react to the less than positive reception which he had received, one of the skills he had learned and tried to perfect during his time travelling around the Continent with Neville.

"I'm glad to hear that, Tracey," said Harry. "May I call you Tracey? I expect that saying Miss Davis repeatedly will grow old and tiresome relatively quickly."

Tracey shrugged her shoulders slightly in a non committal response.

Unperturbed, Harry pressed on. "So, ladies, I was not aware that you all knew each other."

Daphne turned to face him and shook her head slightly. "Just because we weren't in _your_ house and you never got to know _any_ of us from Slytherin, doesn't mean we can't be friends with people who know you."

The coldness in her voice sent a chill through Harry. He was about to make a retort when Hermione placed a hand on his wrist. "Harry, I first met Daphne and Tracey when I was taking Ancient Runes and Arithromancy. Since we all started working at the Ministry, in different departments, we decided that getting together on occasion would be a good way to catch up and also relax."

"Actually, that sounds great," said Harry, trying to lighten the mood after the cold reception he received from the other two witches. Seeing that they all had drinks, but did not have any food, he asked them if they had ordered anything.

"Nothing yet," said Hermione.

"Would everyone like some appetizers, it will be on me," said Harry.

Harry noticed a slight sneer appear on Daphne's face, but it lasted less than a second. He rubbed the side of his head briefly with his hand. "Okay then, how about some pretzels and maybe some nachos."

Daphne and Tracey gave him confused looks.

"Those are muggle types of food," said Hermione by way of explanation. "Try it, I think you'll enjoy it."

Hermione wondered just how Harry would have known what was on the menu, as he had not even looked at one. But before she could say anything about that, Harry called over the waitress, and placed the order. While waiting for the food to arrive the conversation centered around a number of the projects that people had been working on. Tracey had commented that she had been doing work for the DMLE, reviewing information pertinent to cases the DMLE was preparing to bring before the Wizengamot.

Harry noted that Daphne Greengrass remained quiet during most of the conversation. Once the food arrived Hermione brought up some of the work she had been doing gathering information on people who the Ministry classified as "creatures" in her effort to show their intelligence and how they did not pose any threats to the magical society.

"Moving on beyond house elves then?" questioned Pansy Parkinson who had walked up to the table while Hermione was talking.

"Now, be civil," chided Tracey Davis.

Pansy seemed unperturbed by the comment as she continued to speak to the group with a tone of superiority. "Oh, look, it's our resident celebrity, the Boy Who Lived and throws the biggest parties. Now he's gracing us _little_ people by his presence in such a common place as a restaurant. Not as fancy as one of your many manors? Couldn't be bothered to buy decent clothes when you were a student, could you. But now that you survived school you can show off your riches?"

Before Harry could respond Hermione placed a hand firmly on his arm. "Don't let her get to you, Harry." The tone of her words clearly indicated that she was angry at Pansy's arrival and her baiting of Harry.

Harry smiled briefly at Hermione before turning to Pansy. "Greetings, Miss Parkinson. I was going to ask how your father's businesses are doing, but I read that many establishments in Knockturn Alley have been having financial problems recently. Hopefully that does not include any of your family's holdings."

Pansy's face paled. "We're doing just fine, no thanks to you and the current fools in the Wizengamot," she said with a hiss.

"Odd, that you make it sound as though the current changes being made to bolster legitimate businesses might possibly have an adverse effect on Knockturn Alley," said Harry, trying not to smirk.

"Whatever," said Pansy curtly. She turned to her former housemates. "Apparently neither of you could find any more appropriate company. It truly is sad what is becoming of magical society." With that she turned and walked away.

"That was not _too_ awkward," said Tracey, trying to diffuse the tension.

Harry shook his head, and stopped himself from making any further comments.

Daphne then let out a loud sigh, stood up from the table and loudly stated that she was leaving. "Come on Tracy, or we're going to be late. Besides, I've got to rest up before my plans for tomorrow."

Tracey scrunched her face trying to remember what they were going to be late for when Daphne kicked her in her shin. Tracy stood up and mouthed the words "I'm sorry" to Hermione and followed her friend out of the pub.

As they made it to the street, Daphne let out a muffled shriek. "I can't believe what a condescending prick Potter is. He thinks he is better than us because he can pay for food and drinks and he serves on the Wizengamot and because he saved us all from He Who Must Not Be Named."

Tracey knew better than to argue with her friend as she followed her down the street. "Hermione doesn't have any issues with Potter."

Daphne spun around to face Tracey. "Of course she doesn't because he doesn't have any issues with her. They were in Gryffindor together, she helped him with all of his classes, she even helped him in all of his 'adventures' and even with defeating He Who Must Not Be Named. He likes her and will always be nice to her, as opposed to the way he treats us as former Slytherins."

Tracey frowned at Daphne's words. "Wait, what is this you said about plans you have for tomorrow? I don't remember anything about plans."

"There's a new orphanage for magical children being created, sponsored by some unknown company, PPM something," said Daphne. "Kids need to be cared for, and some impersonal corporation trying to help out kids is probably going to fail any of those children. So, I figured I would offer to help out."

Tracy nodded knowingly at her friend. "And make sure that whoever is running the orphanage is taking care of the children properly."

Back in the pub Harry watched the two witches leave and then turned to Hermione, "Was it something I said?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend. "I'm not sure, Harry, but they're good people. They're nothing like Malfoy, or Parkinson for that matter."

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the long delay. My beta reader has been increasingly busy with real life during this time of pandemic, as I have been as well. Still working on getting more chapters edited before posting.**


	3. Chapter 2

**August 2002**

Harry Potter had an enjoyable summer so far. He had been busy working on legislation to provide protections to various groups, including werewolves, centaurs and other individuals who had previously been classified as less than human in the eyes of magical Britain. His business investments continued to be successful, with the guidance of his goblin account manager, Gandor.

The orphanage for magical children was already up and running. Harry had initially thought about calling it "Lily's Home for Gifted Children" but he didn't want to be directly associated with the project and he figured using his mother's name might be too obvious. He considered several other names for the facility but he discarded many of them due to having ties with family or close family friends. Finally he decided that the simple name of 'Home for Gifted Children' would suffice. PP&M Investments would take care of running the home, hiring staff and doing background checks on everyone who was hired. He wanted to make sure any young witch or wizard would never experience the kind of childhood either he or Tom Riddle ever had to experience.

Harry had finished reviewing statements on how PP&M was doing when he received a message summoning him to the Ministry of Magic to meet with the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. As minister, Kingsley wanted to commemorate the various days when the self proclaimed dark lord had been defeated.

Harry was quickly ushered into the minister's office once he had arrived.

"Good morning, Harry, it is so good to see you," greeted Kingsley, his deep voice almost echoing around his office.

Harry returned the offered hand shake with a brief hug. "Likewise, Minister, but come on, we saw each other just last week."

"Now Harry, the last Wizengamot meeting was several weeks ago, and the party you threw for Neville was over two weeks ago," quipped the Minister.

"Okay, Shack, okay," answered Harry with a smile. "So, you wanted to speak to me. There have been rumours about you wanting to have some sort of celebration."

Shack nodded, "Well, I know that October 31 is a difficult day for you, as I know you never liked the reminder of your parents death and their sacrifice for you. But for many witches and wizards, it marks the first defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort. For many years it was seen as a day to celebrate finally being out from under the darkness of the struggles at that time. Well, in light of what happened that night, I was hoping to have a ceremony, honouring their memory; remembering what they did to protect you. It was that protection which enabled you to truly become the hero when you defeated him for good in May several years ago. It has been a few years now since that victory, and we have marked the final defeat of the Dark Lord with ceremonies, but I would like to move the ceremonial nature to the October anniversary, and have a ministry sponsored celebration of his defeat on May 2. Next May will be the 5th anniversary of your defeating him. So I would like to start with the ceremony this fall, honouring your parents. We can make it a ceremony that would be honouring all those who lost their lives fighting against him and his followers. I would like you, Harry, to be a part of this ceremony."

"I'll have to think about it," replied Harry, his honesty clearly shown with the concern on his face. "That day has become a very personal day to me. But if we were to make it a day to honour all of the victims from both wars, as you indicated, well, I think I can work with you on that."

"I was hoping you would say that," said the minister with a large grin on his face. "I went ahead and booked a meeting for you with the event planner for the ministry, next Tuesday morning, at 10, if you're available."

"I'll double check with my house elf, he keeps track of all of my appointments for me," said Harry.

"Good, good," said Kingsley. "I'll let her know you will be in to see her next week."

Harry tilted his head slightly, "By the way, who is the event planner? When you first brought this up, I had assumed that you were referring to Percy Weasley, he seems to be quite the go to person here for a while now and you mentioned I would meet with a 'her,' which clearly means it's not Percy."

"Oh, no, Percy has been assigned to another staff member," answered Kingsley. "I recently appointed a new event planner. You should know her, as I believe that she was in your year at Hogwarts. She did, however, return to school and complete her NEWTs. She is quite bright."

Harry puzzled over this response for a moment, thinking that he may have been describing Hermione, but Harry knew that she would never be anyone's event planner like this. And he knew that Hermione would have shared such news with him if she had taken such a position at the ministry. He pondered if it was perhaps one of the witches he knew from Hufflepuff.

"Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass," said Kingsley. "Her father, Lord Greengrass, has a seat on the Wizengamot of course. Their family business had been imports and exports, which, as I understand, has been quite difficult for them for quite some time, what with the war and all that."

There was an awkward silence in the room for a minute. This was broken when Kingsley spoke up again. "I understand she was a Slytherin. That shouldn't be a problem, now should it?"

"Oh, no sir, not at all," replied Harry as he rubbed his chin. "I actually met her briefly a couple of weeks ago, and if I am correct, Neville Longbottom has had a couple of dates with her younger sister. They met up at the party I threw for Neville."

"Well, then, that sounds wonderful. Just be sure to meet with her then," said Kingsley as he rubbed his hands together. "I'm sure she will make this event a success."

"Yeah, sure," said Harry, his voice indicating he was not so sure of his own words. "Of course she will." With those words Harry left the minister's office and made his way home as he wondered just what would lead a Slytherin to become an event planner for the ministry.

The following week Harry arrived on time for his meeting with Daphne Greengrass. He walked into her office and gave her a big smile, only to be greeted with a frosty glare.

"So, that's why they called her the Ice Queen," he thought to himself.

"Hello, Greengrass," he said with a smile.

"Potter," came the terse reply from the blonde witch sitting behind the desk, "or do I need to call you _Lord_ Potter-Black?"

Harry tilted his head slightly and shrugged, "Actually, Harry will do just fine." He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face, worried that there might have been something there that put her in an irritated mood.

"Fine, Harry, it is then. Why don't you have a seat?" said Daphne.

Harry nodded politely and sat down across from her. There was a minute of silence before Harry spoke up. "So, you're organising some sort of memorial for October 31 according to the Minister and he wanted me to be involved. So, what do you need from me?"

"Minister Shacklebolt explained to me your concerns about the anniversary of your first defeat of He Who… of Lord Voldemort," began Daphne, stuttering over saying the name of the Dark Lord.

"He is well and truly gone, you can say his name now, you know, without fear, without repercussions. No one will be coming for you," said Harry, hoping he was sounding encouraging.

Daphne stiffened at his words. "Being the only person to defeat him, not just once even, but twice, that would be easy for you to say," she snapped at him.

Harry looked down at his left hand, ticking off fingers silently while mouthing numbers, before looking up at her and stating, "Well, actually, I defeated him four times. Five if you count the fact that I did not actually die at his hands in the graveyard in Little Hangleton at the end of the Triwizard tournament. Make that six if you count surviving a battle with him here at the ministry at the end of our fifth year where he tried to possess me and I threw him out of my mind. But then again, who's counting?"

Daphne was not smiling at his comments. Harry was a little surprised by the scowl on her face.

He rubbed a hand through his messy hair and tried to force a smile. "Well, it was at least four at any rate," he added quietly.

"Four? You expect me to believe that you beat He Who Must Not Be Named on four separate occasions?" She huffed. "What an arrogant little sod!"

Harry stiffened at her response. "You can say his name, but I already told you that. If you're not going to say the name Voldemort, at least use his given name, Tom Riddle, which you would have known about if you had read even a fraction of the interviews that I gave to all sorts of reporters. And yes, if you need to know, I survived an encounter with him when I was an infant, on 31 October 1981; the date when my parents died, when they sacrificed themselves for me I might add. Sorry if it bothers you that making a party out of that event doesn't exactly excite me." Harry paused and took a deep breath. "Then, at the end of our first year, I had a confrontation with our DADA professor, Quirrel the stuttering buffoon, who was actually possessed by Riddle. How no one at Hogwarts could figure that out throughout the entire school year is beyond me. But I digress. Quirrel died at my hands at the end of the year, and the spirit of Riddle, of the Dark Lord, escaped. That makes two. Then, at the end of our second year I faced him again. This time in the form of a memory, a soul fragment if you will, and defeated him in the Chamber of Secrets. I nearly died that day from a basilisk bite, but as you can see, I am still here. That's three. Fourth year was the Tri-Wizard tournament, which I did NOT enter myself into, although the school was entirely too stupid to see that. Well, the events that happened at the end of the third task happened just as I explained, but the idiot Fudge didn't want to be bothered with facts. Hell, he could have looked at a pensive memory about what I had seen and done but he didn't want any of that. So that makes four. Then, at the end of the reign of Umbitch at the end of our fifth year I travelled to the Department of Mysteries because I was tricked by the now resurrected Dark Lord Voldemort into trying to retrieve a prophecy that basically said that one of us had to die at the hands of the other. A prophecy which both he and Dumbledore believed. That led to a fight where he tried to possess my body, but I didn't let him, I forced him out. Which is now five, for those keeping score at home. How much detail do you need to know about the Battle of Hogwarts? I can tell you more than you ever would have read in any of the interviews I gave, if that will convince you."

Daphne was flushed and leaning back in her chair. "Calm down Potter. Fine, you faced him five or six times. You won, I get it. I'm not attacking you."

"You did call me an arrogant little sod," Harry observed after taking a deep breath and sitting back in his chair.

"Well, you are, but that's beside the point," said Daphne. "So I take it that you don't want to focus on your parents."

"No, my parents sacrificed themselves for me, that is why I survived that night," said Harry rubbing his left arm with his right hand. "This needs to be about _all_ of the victims, all those who died at his hands or at the hands of the death eaters. This should not be a night of celebrations, but a night of grieving. Grieving for the loved ones who were lost, who died fighting for all that is right and good and decent; for those who were murdered, because they didn't have the right blood status, or because they didn't have magic and their loved ones will never know the truth about what happened because of the statute of secrecy. We need to remember those who fought and died so that _all_ magical people can be a part of our society. We need to remember that men, women, children, and even magical creatures died fighting the evil of Riddle and his followers."

Daphne blinked a few times in response to his words. She brushed her hands to straighten out her robes. She took a deep breath, "Well, of course, this is to be about all of them. But the minister had suggested the focus be…."

Harry interrupted her, "I don't care what the minister said, but this will _not_ be about my parents. Yes, they were very brave to lay their lives down. They at least had a choice. They thought they made the right choice in hiding, but they trusted the _wrong_ wizard. And I am only here today because of the love they had for me."

Daphne nodded as she gathered her strength and suppressed any further outward sign of emotion, just as she had learned to do as a young girl. "So, then, Potter, er, Harry, what did you have in mind then for this ceremony?"

"I have heard of muggles using technology to scroll the names of victims of a tragedy so everyone could see it on one of their television screens. We could create a magical scroll that would list all of the names of the victims," Harry began. He noted the confusion on her face. "Do you not know about muggle television or movies or computers?"

Daphne sat up straighter, if that were possible, "I know about muggle things." Then after a slight pause she added, "Well, some muggle things."

"Have you ever been to muggle London?" he asked her.

"Yes, of course I have, I've been to shops and stores, we've even been to a muggle restaurant on more than one occasion," she added.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "It seems someone needs an education on muggles and muggle society and especially on muggle technology."

"Perhaps," said Daphne, "however, we are here to discuss plans for the memorial."

"The memorial ceremony is planned for the end of October, this is August. We have plenty of time," stated Harry.

Daphne pushed some stray hairs behind her ear. "Still, what other ideas do you have for the ceremony?"

"Back to business then," said Harry with a slight sigh. "Muggles have created many types of memorials after people die, whether it be in war, or tragedy, or whatever. These can include statues, or plaques, monument buildings, or even a large wall with the names of everyone who died in a particular war. All of those things have been done by muggles."

"But how would such a monument be built? Things are still tight financially for the ministry," countered Daphne.

"Simple, just ask for donations," said Harry.

"I suppose that could be done," said Daphne. "Did you have any thoughts for the ceremony itself?"

"Other than the list of names, and a physical monument, just a simple review of what happened, that there were victims: those who were murdered, those who died as the result of terrorist attacks, those who were collateral damage. Then there were those who died in the fight against Tom Riddle and the Death Eaters." Harry paused and suppressed a laugh.

"What is so funny?" asked Daphne, a little irritation evident in her tone as she was not sure why Harry would start to laugh in the middle of this particular conversation.

"Tom Riddle and the Death Eaters," said Harry. "As I said that out loud, it almost sounded if they might be a muggle punk rock band."

"What is a punk rock band?" asked Daphne.

Harry rolled his eyes, then shook his head. "You, young lady, are in desperate need of an education on the muggle world."

Daphne narrowed her eyes, and spoke sharply. "Don't worry, Potter, it probably won't be at your hands that I ever get such an education."

"Your loss, then," said Harry putting his hands up in front of him.

Daphne sighed loudly at the wizard in front of her. "Do you have anything more at this time?" asked the former Slytherin witch.

"Not really," said Harry.

"Well, this does give me a lot to work with," stated Daphne. "So, I will get to work on an initial proposal for the Minister. Perhaps you would want to review it with me prior to my submitting it to Minister Shacklebolt, say in about two weeks?"

"Sounds fine to me," said Harry as he stood up to leave.

Harry and Daphne were both leaving the Ministry at the same time, making their way through the lobby. Harry heard a woman's voice call out to him. He turned to see a tall, thin woman with wavy dark hair waving at him.

Daphne Greengrass looked at the woman and quickly ascertained that she had no idea who she was. "Who is that, Potter?" asked Daphne as the woman made her way over towards them.

"Cassandra Woodson, Neville's cousin," said Harry.

Cassandra ran up to Harry and kissed him on both cheeks.

Before he could get a chance to introduce her to Daphne, Cassandra stepped back, still holding one of Harry's hands in both of hers.

"And who is this?" asked Cassandra, turning her gaze towards Daphne.

"Cassandra Woodson, this is Daphne Greengrass, special assistant to the Minster for Magic. Daphne, this is Cassandra Woodson, a cousin of Neville Longbottom."

Cassandra smiled briefly at Daphne before turning back to Harry. "Oh, Harry, it is quite fortunate that I met up with you. I'm here to visit again, my parents may well be moving back to England, what with my having graduated last year and the war being well and truly over."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? But what brings you to the Ministry?"

"Just needing to get ourselves registered with the Ministry, now that we will probably be living here. So, pretty soon it won't be visiting anymore, but living here!"

Daphne found the demeanour of the young witch to be too happy and too friendly as she watched the interaction between her and Potter.

"Oh, well, would you like me to show you where you would need to go?"

Cassandra smiled even more. "Oh that would be just wonderful!" She hooked her arm into Harry's, waiting for him to lead the way.

"I'll leave you to it then," said Daphne with a slight smile as she made her way to exit the ministry.

* * *

P&P 2.2

* * *

Harry dealt with some of his business at Gringotts Bank that morning before he made his way over to Longbottom Manor. He found Neville working in his extensive greenhouses. Harry sat on a stool nearby where Neville was working. He had learned a while ago not to interrupt Neville as many of his plants could be dangerous if he didn't do everything just right. And asking Neville about his plants was equally dangerous, as Harry had discovered that once Neville started talking, he could go on longer about his plants than Binns could go on about any goblin rebellion from hundreds of years ago.

Once Neville finished potting something that looked more like a vicious predator than a house plant, Harry summoned a couple of butter beers he had brought with him.

"So, Nev, how are things with Astoria?" asked Harry.

Neville pulled up a stool, opened up his bottle, and eyed Harry carefully.

"Since when have you taken an interest in my having had a couple of dates with her?" Neville took a sip of his butterbeer before continuing. "As I recall, you warned me to be cautious. Actually, I think you stated: 'watch your arse, my friend.'"

"I'm just a curious friend, mate, that's all," replied Harry.

The two took sips from their butterbeer.

"Saw her sister today at the ministry," Harry finally added.

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Trying to find dirt on their family?"

"You know I would never do that Neville," said Harry as he put his hand on his chest, feigning being hurt. "Not unless you asked first, of course."

Neville shook his head. "You know, sometimes, Harry, people can act without hidden motives."

"Yeah, a Gryffindor might do that, even a Hufflepuff," said Harry, "but probably not a Slytherin."

"You know, Harry, being suspicious of everyone is not a good way to go through life, nor to make allies in the Wizengamot," said Neville.

Before Harry could respond, Neville amended his statement. "On second thought, maybe you should be suspicious of everyone in the Wizengamot." Neville then rubbed the back of his neck. "So how is Hermione?"

Harry nodded slightly as he finished another sip of his butterbeer. "Yeah, well, she decided to stay over at Grimmauld Place. It's much easier for her to get to work at her position at the ministry, working on improving conditions and rights for magical creatures."

"At least she finally gave up her crusade to free all of the house elves," said Neville with a laugh. "So, how is she _really_ doing?"

"Well, she and Ron didn't really make sense," Harry said. "She was so focused on her education, and Ron was always focused on the easiest way through life. He didn't last long in the Auror department. I think he is happier working with his brother. Still tries to get everything he can out of the waning fame from the battle."

"Yeah, I know about Ron, but I was asking about Hermione," said Neville. "What aren't you telling me? Any other reason for her to move in with you?"

Harry huffed in response to Neville's question. "You know better than to suggest anything going on between Hermione and me. She's my best friend. Besides, she's not my type. And I'm sure she sees me as a brother, not a potential boyfriend."

Neville grinned, "Of course, of course. But how long ago did she and Ron actually break up? She hasn't been dating anyone for the past year. I think she finally figured out that the only thing she had in common with Ron was that they were both friends with you."

"It sure as heck wasn't because they had the same interest in studying and learning," added Harry.

"Speaking of Ron, how are you two getting along? You haven't been to the weekly Sunday dinners at the Burrow in a while, from what I can tell."

Harry shook his head. "Despite what everyone said, once Ginny and I went our separate ways, there continued to be an awkwardness every time I went over there. Percy always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. Ron, well, we already discussed Ron. George has stayed busy with his business, but he hasn't been quite the same since Fred died. And Charlie went back to Romania."

"Molly still expects you and Ginny to get back together, I suppose," said Neville.

"It seems that way, she always gives me this look that makes me feel that she is disappointed with me every time I see her," said Harry.

"Well, what mother wouldn't want their only daughter married to the _famous_ Harry Potter," quipped Neville.

"Stuff it mate, I don't need that, especially from you," said Harry who then finished his butterbeer.

"So, you met up with Daphne today," said Neville, letting the implications of his comment hang heavy around the two.

"I met with her about this ceremony that Kingsley wants to have on the anniversary of the first fall of Riddle," said Harry. "It became quite clear why she earned the nickname 'The Ice Queen of Slytherin.' She was cold, very cold. I even suggested that maybe she should learn more about the muggle world and she shot that idea down pretty thoroughly."

Neville leaned back slightly and frowned. "That doesn't seem right. Her family, the Greengrasses, have always conducted business in both the muggle and the magical world."

"Whatever, she just seemed like she didn't like me, but then again, I don't think any Slytherins had much reason to like me back in school," said Harry.

"No, I would think not," agreed Neville. "So, what are you up to this next week? We don't have any Wizengamot meetings for a while."

"Heading back to the Continent," said Harry as he scratched his shoulder slightly. "More properties to check out across Europe. I have been looking into investing in some more magical businesses. Also I will be checking on the vineyards in France."

"Careful with your time in France," said Neville. "Fleur's little sister may try and track you down if she knows you're anywhere near where she is. She never did get over that crush on you after you saved her during the second task."

"It's been over seven years since that happened," said Harry, shaking his head.

"Which only means that she is now a legal adult," added Neville. "A legally adult Veela."

"Hopefully by now she found a boyfriend at Beauxbatons," said Harry as he got up to make his way out of the greenhouse. "I probably ought to get ready for my trip, I'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

Neville smiled at his friend. "Like Kreacher doesn't have everything all prepared for you already."

Harry stopped and nodded, "You're right, he probably does."

With that, Harry said his goodbye and returned to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

P&P 2.3

* * *

Harry returned from his business trip to France and Italy and met with his account manager at Gringotts. The vineyards were doing poorly, due to some new magical blight. The properties he looked at in Italy were not what he was lead to believe they would be. The businesses he was considering investing in were not meeting basic standards with the treatment of their magical creatures. Harry quickly felt that the business options all assumed that they could make a sale to Harry without his coming around. He was wise enough to not completely close off the opportunities, but he knew he had to make it clear to Gandor that such proposals were not going to be acceptable.

Gandor had committed to contacting the businesses, and make it clear that certain standards would have to be met if they would have any chance of future dealings with the Lord Potter-Black.

After he finished his meeting at the bank, Harry realised that he was running late for his follow up meeting with Daphne Greengrass at the ministry. He made his way there as quickly as possible, almost running through the ministry to make up time. He had already concluded that offending her anymore was not going to be an enjoyable experience. As he got off the lift at the floor where her office was located, he stopped, made sure that he looked presentable, and then slowly walked the rest of the way down the hall.

As he stepped into her office, Daphne cast a tempus charm, shook her head slightly and snapped, "You're late. But then again, I suppose you have more important things to do than meet with me."

"I was a little tied up," he said weakly in a small attempt at apologising.

"Well, if you have the time to stay for the presentation, I can show you what we have come up with so far," she said flatly.

Harry pulled a chair up to the side of the desk, "Fire away, I'd love to hear what you have planned."

Daphne rolled her eyes at him, then she pulled out her wand, and waved it towards the ceiling to her left. A scroll unfurled along the top of the wall, then names started to scroll across, much like an electronic marquee would in the muggle world.

As Harry was watching the names he started to shift slightly in his chair, as he couldn't get rid of the thoughts running through his mind about the problems with the possible business ventures that he had just discussed with Gandor. Daphne noted his fidgeting, and assumed that he was just bored with the presentation.

She then made another quick wave of her wand and the scroll disappeared. "The ministry likes the idea of creating a memorial, and would like your input on whether it should be a wall with the names carved into it, or some sort of statue. Of course, it could be an enchanted statue with the names changing periodically to list everyone. There would be advantages to that plan," she said, then paused waiting for a reply from Harry.

"Of course, yes, of course," said Harry. "Changing the names magically is good."

"The question is where should the memorial physically be placed. The victims died all over the country. Having it at a central location such as the ministry may work, but not everyone comes here. Having it at Hogwarts would be another idea, but that was the focus of the final end of the war, and the minister plans to have a celebration there in May, so having the memorial there might be confusing to some or take away from its importance," Daphne hesitated to make sure that she still had Harry's attention. "Another thought was that having the memorial in Diagon Alley would make sense as people go there often, several of the attacks occurred there, and the memorial could even include the names of the goblins that were killed when Volde…when Riddle went there shortly after you had been there."

"Diagon Alley makes sense, but then again, so does the ministry," stated Harry.

"If you would like we can review some options for the memorial, but that should wait until next week, as the minister has some people working on possible designs," said Daphne.

"Next week sounds fine, as long as I'm not away on business," said Harry.

"Well, if you're not too busy, then we'll meet here again in one week," said Daphne, concluding their meeting.

Harry replied with a simple statement, "Sounds fine." Then he stood up, bade her a good day and turned and left.

Daphne sat back in her chair and let out a deep breath. She put her hands up to the side of her head and stifled a scream. She looked at the time and muttered to herself, five o'clock cannot come soon enough.

* * *

P&P 2.4

* * *

At five o'clock Daphne was making a quick exit from her office. She had plans to meet up with her best friend, Tracey Davis. Tracey had been apprenticing as a healer at St. Mungo's. They met up at the main floo entrance to the ministry and quickly made their way to Hogsmeade to share a drink at the Three Broomsticks.

As the two witches sat down after ordering drinks, Daphne leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh.

"Bad day, huh?" asked Tracey.

"Merlins balls, it was awful," said Daphne as she stared off to the ceiling for a minute. Then she continued, "I had a meeting with Potter again. Oh, I'm sorry, I had a meeting with _Lord_ Potter-Black. He didn't seem to be wanting to be there. He waltzes in slowly, late for the meeting, of course. And he didn't even seem to be paying attention at times."

Tracey made several faces as she considered what Daphne had said. "Maybe," she surmised, "he just must have been bored with the whole thing. You did say he didn't want to do anything about remembering his parents' death. Or then again, maybe he just doesn't like you because you were in Slytherin."

"He is so petty if he can't work with me because of what house I was in. It's not like he ever would have been a Slytherin," bemoaned Daphne. "It's probably a combination of his hating the idea of the ceremony and memorial because he never really knew his parents and his hating me because I was in the same house as that ass Malfoy."

"Either way, there is only one thing you can do about it right now," said Tracey.

Daphne turned to look at her friend, a curious look in her eye. "And just what would that be?"

"Have another drink!" she exclaimed as she held up her now empty glass.

Daphne finished her drink and smiled back at her friend. "Now that's an idea I can fully get behind!"

* * *

P&P 2.5

* * *

Harry had another trip to Europe to have follow up meetings with some of the businesses that Gandor had spoken with. Several of the businesses were working on making upgrades that would meet the requirements that Harry would have before he would consider investing in them, some of the others refused to make any changes until after he put his money down so that the changes could then be made.

Harry had then gotten into an argument with one of the owners, to which Harry made it clear that they needed Harry's money more than Harry needed to invest it in their business. He got up and walked out of the conference room, took a floo to the international magical travel centre, and then made his way back to England. Making a quick trip via the floo network to the ministry of magic, he realised he would probably once again be late to meeting up with Daphne Greengrass. As he was making his way through the lobby towards the lifts to take him to Daphne's office, he ran into Hermione.

"Oh, Harry! You're back!" she called out to him. "How was your trip to Europe?"

Harry gave her a quick hug and shrugged. "Too soon to tell," he said. "But I'm already late for another meeting, we'll catch up later. Dinner tonight? I'll cook!"

Hermione smiled at him, "That will only happen if you catch Kreacher off guard!"

Harry smiled, turned around and narrowly avoided colliding with another witch. He made his apologies and then ventured on towards the lifts and down to Daphne's office.

As he walked in, once again she was looking at a clock, and then she sighed. "I'm sure you're busy, Lord Potter-Black, but the rest of us have lives too. And a job to do as well."

Harry didn't want to get into an argument so he decided to ignore her quip. "Sorry I'm late, but where do we stand on the memorial issue? Are we leaning towards a statue or a wall?"

"Right, straight to business then, is it," said Daphne. "These are the options that the Minister is thinking may work best." She then tapped her wand and several projections appeared over her desk.

The first was a statue of a witch and a wizard and a child, standing together. They stood atop a base that had names processing around in a circle. The second was also a statue, this one of a phoenix, again on top of a base that had the names of the victims appearing around it. The third was a simple octagonal structure with the names of the victims scrolling vertically over the various panels.

Harry looked at the three models and rubbed his chin. He tilted his had slightly as he looked at each one again and then he rubbed his hand through his messy hair. He opened his mouth as if to say something then he stopped, placing a finger in front of his mouth.

"Your thoughts? You seem to have something you want to say about this," pointed out Daphne.

"Oh, well, I think there are interesting things about all three of these," he said as he sat down in the chair he usually sued and crossed his arms over his chest. "Would it be possible to perhaps find a way to combine these, you know, take elements from all three of the ideas."

Daphne looked at him and considered his comment for a moment. "Combine them all? We hadn't thought of that."

Harry shifted in his seat for a moment before he replied. "Well, the first one, it depicts a family. Men, women and children all died in the war. The idea of family is important to the magical community. So that works well. The second one, the phoenix, signifies several things. Dumbledore's group that opposed Riddle and his followers was called the Order of the Phoenix. Using the image of a phoenix acknowledges what they did without calling them out explicitly. Also, there is the fact that those magical creatures are reborn after disappearing in flames. They are born again from their ashes. The wizarding world went through a fire and is experiencing a rebirth now, so there is that imagery as well. Then the third one, the octagonal shape and with the way the names scroll up and down, it's a different idea, and it kind of catches my attention."

"Very well," said Daphne thoughtfully, "I suppose we can work with those ideas."

"Hey, I'm just one man, one opinion, you don't have to go with what I say on this," offered Harry.

"No, it's good, your ideas are good," she said a little bit more conciliatory. She then vanished the models with a flick of her wand. "Now, have you prepared anything you want to say at the ceremony?"

Harry gritted his teeth. He really didn't want to have to do anything official at the ceremony. He was afraid he would either sound trite, or corny, or overly emotional.

"I suppose that I can work on something to say," he said after a long and uncomfortable minute of silence. "I suppose I can say at least a few words. Who else does the ministry plan to have speaking?"

"Besides you, and the minister, they were expecting to have Gawain Robards, the current head of the DMLE, and then of course the current Chief Wizard, Stephanus Hobart."

Harry nodded in recognition of all of those who would be speaking. "Okay, yeah, that does make sense."

After an awkward moment of silence, Harry said, "If that will be all,"and left the statement open, knowing that he needed to make his way to Gringotts to update his account manager about his latest trip.

Daphne closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to hide her frustration with Potter's impatience. "That should be fine. Although, the minister would like to see what you are planning to say at least two weeks prior to the ceremony," she added.

"I'm pretty sure I will manage to meet up with Shacklebolt sometime before then," Harry said with a smile. Then he said a quick goodbye and made his way out of the ministry.

"Still too busy to have the decency to take the time to do this right," Daphne said to the now otherwise empty office as the door closed behind Harry.

* * *

**AN: Another chapter complete - hopefully my editing is sufficient...**


	4. Chapter 3

**Fall 2002**

October 31 arrived, and with it came the unveiling of the new monument to honour all of the victims of the recent magical war. An open area was magically added in the middle of Diagon Alley, chosen as the site for the memorial as more witches and wizards would go there than to the ministry. The statue stood on top of an octagonal base. On one side of the statue was a wizard and a witch with two children standing between them. Behind them, facing the other side, was a phoenix rising from flames. The base of the statue was enchanted so that the names of those who died in both wars due to either Voldemort or the Death Eaters would scroll across the different sides.

Harry was almost surprised that Daphne and the committee for the ceremony had actually taken his opinion on the three options for the memorial and combined them all into one. Harry silently wondered if that decision irritated Daphne Greengrass, as he could tell that she did not really seem to enjoy meeting with him at all.

The Ministry of Magic's ceremony to commemorate all those who died during both wars with Tom Riddle and the Death Eaters, as well as those who died because of the activities of those individuals went off without any problems. The speakers all kept their comments short. The Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, spoke about the importance of the magical community working together; Gawain Robards, head of the DMLE, spoke about how the ministry would endeavour to make all of the magical world safe, not just safe for a select few; the Chief Warlock, Stephanus Hobart spoke about hope for the future; which left Harry Potter to be the final speaker.

When he stepped up to the podium Harry waited for the applause to die down before he started to speak. "Some people think of me as a hero, for what happened twenty-one years ago, an event that occurred when I was an infant, when I was first attacked by Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as the Dark Lord Voldemort. Some think I became the saviour of the magical world in May of 1998 when I defeated that same wizard once and for all, at the Battle of Hogwarts. But I look at those events a little differently than many others. On October 31, 1981, I became an orphan. My parents, like many of yours, became victims of the magical war. A war fought supposedly over blood purity, led by a man who as you all have since learned, was a half blood child of a near squib and a muggle. Like many of you, I lost family and friends during the course of the war and the many battles. So, I share with all of you the importance of this memorial, to honour those we lost, to honour those who died in the struggle so that we could emerge victorious. I had no choice to fight against Tom Riddle, because he had determined that he would come after me since I was young. I did what I could, and through the help of many friends, including many who died or were injured, I ultimately defeated the Dark Lord. This memorial is not about the victory, but it is a memorial for all that was lost. Brilliant minds, talented wizards and witches, caring and loving friends and family. Honour them and their sacrifice, and never forget what these people, whose names will continue to scroll on the memorial, did for all of us."

With those words delivered, Harry turned and walked off of the small platform that had been erected.

The witches and wizards who showed up in attendance were solemn and seemed to appreciate the words of all of the speakers. The DMLE was grateful that they didn't have to deal with any sort of issues from Death Eater supporters. And the Daily Prophet printed all of the speeches in the special memorial edition the following day.

* * *

P&P 3.2

* * *

On 1 November, Harry had joined Neville for lunch. "So, Nev, what did you think of the ceremony yesterday?"

"I thought it was touching, and not overly dramatic," he said. "Oh, and thank you for getting my mum and dad's names onto the memorial. That really meant a lot to me. Even if they didn't die during the wars."

"They were victims just as much as anyone else, and you know that Neville," reassured Harry.

"Well, at any rate, I still wanted to thank you," Neville added. "And Astoria agrees. She thinks it was really kind and sweet of you to do that. Her words, not mine."

"So, you two are still going strong," commented Harry. "What does your gran have to say about this?"

Neville sat back a little and put down his sandwich. "Gran? She hasn't said a thing." Neville sensed Harry was questioning his statement just from the look on Harry's face. "What? Because Astoria was in Slytherin? I don't think it's really an issue. Well, it isn't for me at any rate."

"So, you two are happy then?"

"Yeah, I'd say we're happy. She seems happy. I mean, well, I'm happy," said Neville. "Yeah, I am definitely happy in this relationship."

Harry nodded in response to Neville's answer.

* * *

P&P 3.3

* * *

**December 2002**

Harry and Hermione had gone to Diagon Alley to start their Christmas shopping. Over the past several years since the end of the war many shops had reopened, and many new stores had started up, and the economy was very much recovering form the aftermath of the war. There were now several restaurants in Diagon Alley, more clothing stores, and a whole variety of new shops.

Harry was enjoying listening to the music that was enchanted to play along the streets, and the air was brisk and one could see their breath. There was a little cafe that had opened and Harry nudged Hermione towards it as they decided to head in for some hot cider and a biscuit to warm up. As they ordered their ciders, Hermione noticed that Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis were seated at one of the tables.

Hermione whispered to Harry, "We should sit with them, after all, you did work with Daphne on the planning of the memorial ceremony this fall."

Harry was about to protest but he was too late as Hermione had made her way over to the table and was greeting the other two witches.

As Harry slowly walked over to the table, Hermione thanked the two witches for allowing them to join them. "Thanks, this place is getting crowded. Are you two also out for Christmas shopping?"

Daphne took a sip from her mug of cocoa, and bit back on a sarcastic reply.

"Of course," replied Tracey with a smile. "So, are you two finally a couple? Out to get your first mutual yule presents?"

Hermione paled at the comment. "No, of course not, we're not a couple," protested Hermione. "Definitely not a couple," she added.

"But I thought that you two were living together," added Tracey.

Daphne was working hard to conceal a smirk.

"Um, no, not really," said a flushed Hermione.

"We've been best friends since the incident with the troll in our first year," stated Harry as if he were reciting basic math facts. "I have plenty of room at my home in London, so just like family, like a sister, Hermione is always welcome to stay."

Tracey turned her attention to Harry with his comments, her eyes seemed to light up with mirth. "Do you just like having her around to keep the flocks of adoring witches and fan girls at bay? You are, after all, Witch Weekly's _most eligible wizard_ going on four years running now. Or is it five?"

Daphne rolled her eyes at her friend's behaviour towards the two former Gryffindor students.

"If it keeps the fan girls away, then yeah, I'm more than okay with that," stated Harry with a smile that he hadn't let show since they made their way to the table.

"Harry never was interested in people who only wanted to be near him for his fame, for things he had no control over," said Hermione.

"But if people can change, so can my opinion of them," added Harry as he turned towards Hermione. "As I recall, when we first met on the train as first years, you told me how you had read _ALL_ about me. But you really didn't know me at all. Well, not until after Halloween that year."

Tracey wagged her eyebrows, "So, there is hope for all of us, then. Other people might also eventually become friends with the Chosen One!"

"Oh please!" complained Daphne.

The other three stared at the blonde witch for her comment.

"What?" she asked in reply. Then, as no one said anything further, she took a deep breath and briefly closed her eyes. "Fine," she said as she opened her eyes again. "_Lord_ Potter-Black here has a wonderful agenda. Let's make everything great for my muggle born friends and for those who don't know anything about the history of the magical world. Oh, and while we're at it, let's also make sure that we make things difficult for anyone he doesn't like, especially Slytherins, or former Slytherins, because they are _all_ evil and slimy snakes who no one can trust."

Tracey turned pink in response to the outburst. Hermione looked down finding something in her lap immensely interesting. Harry tilted his head to one side, his jaw open slightly, and then he started to respond.

"You know, Greengrass, I have no idea where you get your ideas from," he said, his tone cold and his voice holding back his anger. "I have never judged Slytherins for being in that house. Malfoy was a prick, we all know that. But he did help me once, and I will _always_ remember that _and_ be eternally grateful for what he did for me at that time. I do not hold one's house that they were sorted into at Hogwarts against anyone. Courageous people have come from Slytherin. Scheming cowards have come from Gryffindor. I have never meant to come across as thinking I am better than anyone else, despite anything said about me by Snape all those years ago, or even Malfoy."

Daphne scoffed. "If that were true you would have had the decency to show up on time for our meetings earlier this year. Not to mention you would have been more focused on what we were discussing and not be so distracted that it seemed like I was wasting your time!"

"Time management was never my forte, even back in school," said Harry with a slight shrug in defence.

"That's for sure," agreed Hermione.

Daphne turned to Tracey. "I think we need to leave so we're not late for our appointments."

She stood up and made her way towards the exit. Tracey mouthed the word "sorry" to Harry and Hermione as she followed her friend out the door.

As they watched the two witches leave, Hermione shook her head and looked at Harry. "What did you do to irritate Greengrass so much?"

"Honestly, Hermione, I don't have a bloody clue," said a very confused and frustrated Harry.

* * *

P&P 3.4

* * *

"What the hell was that all about?" asked Tracey as she was catching up to Daphne.

"Potter seems to think he's better than everyone else," she lamented. "He clearly felt that he didn't need to show up on time to our meetings this fall. He got away with breaking the rules in school all the time, and sometimes he even received house points for it so that Gryffindor would _always_ win the house cup. And then of course there are those comments we heard him make at the party he threw for Longbottom."

"But isn't Astoria still dating Neville?" wondered Tracey.

"Of course they are, but I'm pretty sure _Lord_ Potter-Black doesn't approve, because after all, she is just another _slimy snake_ in his view," sneers Daphne.

They paused outside of the magical salon they were heading towards, and Daphne took a deep breath. "Let's go in, we'll have a nice time for ourselves and forget about Potter."

"That sounds fine to me," said Tracey with a smile.

* * *

P&P 3.5

* * *

The next week Daphne was making her way through the halls of the Ministry of Magic, and as she came around a corner she collided with a wizard walking quickly in the other direction. She was about to snap at them as the papers she was carrying went flying everywhere. All she could see at first was a crop of red hair on top of the person who had also ended up on their backside on the floor. Daphne braced herself for an earful from the Weasley who had knocked her over, so she was surprised a little when the other individual started out with an apology.

"I'm sorry about that miss, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." He offered a hand to help her up and then he introduced himself. "Weasley, Percy Weasley, at you service m'am. You must be a Greengrass, I'd recognise those facial features anywhere. Your father sits on the Wizengamot, doesn't he?"

Daphne was taken aback, as here she was, face to face with one of the Weasley clan and much to her surprise, they were actually acting polite.

"I'm fine, I'll be alright," said Daphne. Then she added, "And yes, my father does have a seat on the Wizengamot."

She looked down and saw that some of the papers she was carrying had become smudged.

"Damn, I'll I've to rewrite those up before bringing them to the minister now," she muttered, voicing her frustration.

"I ran into you," said Percy by way of apology, "so maybe I can clean them up. Or have someone rewrite them out for you. I have some connections within the ministry, you know, so I'm quite sure I can get this done for you. How soon do you need the papers?"

Daphne smiled slightly, "I need to get this to the minister before the end of the day. I was hoping to get them turned in now so that I wouldn't have to worry about it at all."

Percy picked up her stack of parchment. "I'll find someone to fix this, then, perhaps I can treat you to a tea or coffee."

Daphne smiled politely as she considered that at least she would be getting something out of this situation. Fifteen minutes later, Percy had arranged for someone to copy over her work on clean parchment, and they were sitting at a little shop over a cup of tea.

"I noticed that you didn't seem so pleased to see me," commented Percy. "I presume you have had the misfortune of meeting one or more of my brothers."

Daphne smiled thinly at this comment. "I was in the same class as your youngest brother, and in case you were not aware, he was quite vocal in his opinion about those from the house of Slytherin."

Percy nodded, "Yes, he can be a bit narrow-minded when it comes to the different houses. It's not as though he had the best influences on him during his years at school, so I suppose a little leeway might be considered."

Daphne raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of her tea. Her mind raced as she quickly realised that Percy must be referring to Harry Potter and perhaps even Hermione Granger. She was intrigued by what this Weasley had to say. "So, I take it then that you're not a fan of Lord Potter-Black? I thought the entire Weasley clan thought he was the Gryffindor Golden Boy who could do no wrong."

Percy shook his head slightly. "Harry Potter _stumbled_ his way to success, in my opinion." He then leaned in towards Daphne and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "His influence on people within the ministry caused me to be demoted from my position as an assistant to Minister Fudge. Why, if that hadn't have happened, I might be in line for being First Undersecretary by now. And then, well, Harry Potter also broke my youngest sister's heart after leading her on for years. All of that to then just break up with her once he survived the war and was basking in his fame. And don't get me started on how he sided with that bint, Granger, after she dumped my youngest brother, Ron. Everything wrong with the ministry now can be linked to Potter, I'm pretty sure of that." His voice was no longer whispering when he finished his little

Daphne smiled slightly at hearing the words of this former Gryffindor. "That is definitely something to keep in mind," she said, taking in what Percy had said. "But if you say that Potter has such control over everything, what are his motives? Why is he doing this?"

"It's simple really," stated Percy. "He has always liked his fame. Dumbledore allowed him to get away with everything he ever did. The number of times he got himself and my little brother in trouble, but managed to get a free pass from Dumbledore, well, they're too numerous to count. And then they even received house points for breaking those rules. Why, in their first year alone they broke so may rules and the most trouble they got into required that they went into the Forbidden Forest, with Hagrid. How is that a punishment?"

"I guess there is a lot I need to keep in mind, particularly if the minister assigns me any more projects with him," said Daphne.

"Shacklebolt, yeah, he was a good man, worked hard for the DMLE, but not sure how he was the one person to end up as the Minister after everything that happened," Percy said, voicing his personal concerns to the witch sitting across from him. "He was on the inside group with Dumbledore, so I suppose that must have had something to do with it. And he was assigned to work with the Muggle Prime Minister during the war, so people must have thought he could iron things out with the muggle government."

Daphne checked the time with a quick tempos charm, and Percy noted that the parchments should be ready by this time. They finished their tea and Percy obtained the newly written parchments, and presented them to Daphne. She was then able to make her way to the minister's office, her work now presentable and clean.

* * *

P&P 3.6

* * *

As Harry was reviewing his businesses and his assets with his account manager, he was also looking at which businesses his own depended upon. There was a fair amount of information set out before him. He noticed that one of the suppliers for several of his own businesses was Greengrass Imports. Harry reviewed the balance sheets, and noted that the prices that he was being charged were slowly but steadily being increased.

"Gandor, why are these prices increasing from Greengrass Imports?" asked Harry.

The goblin looked at the figures and then pulled out some more information. "It would seem, Lord Potter-Black, that the Greengrass Imports business has not been doing well, financially speaking, since before the end of the war. Your companies are some of the only ones they have current and active business relationships with. Increasing their fees, their charges, is how they are staving off financial ruin."

Harry considered what he had been told. "Suggestions?"

"You could buy them out, or you could send your business elsewhere. The latter option would probably ruin them, the former would just add them to the many businesses with PP&M." stated Gandor.

Harry considered what he had been told. "What would it take to negotiate better prices for my business but still guarantee the business success of Greengrass Imports?"

Gandor would have been surprised by this question if Harry Potter-Black had not bought up similar questions in the past. He didn't understand why Harry was willing to give up some of his own profits so that others could benefit. Clearly, this was not the way goblins would ever do business. However, he did notice that Harry always found ways to continue to increase his own profits and not lose money when he made such arrangements, even if it was less than what he would have made if he had been more aggressive financially.

Gandor considered the question, then simply stated, "We will have to look into what the options are. There may be options, well, there are _always_ options. But it may take a little time to come up with the best financial plan for everyone, including those businesses that you do not, at least currently, own."

"Then you should get working on it," said Harry before he excused himself from the meeting.

* * *

P&P 3.7

* * *

**December 2002**

Christmas day had arrived and Harry was spending the day with the Longbottom family. Hermione was visiting with her parents in Australia which left Harry alone at his home as the holiday finally arrived.

Astoria was with her family for the holiday as she and Neville had not yet become serious enough to spend the holiday away from their own families.

After the feast had ended that afternoon, Neville and Harry were sitting together in front of the fireplace.

"So, how goes things, my friend?" asked Harry.

Neville smiled before he replied. "I think they are going well. I really enjoy the times I spend with Astoria. I am looking forward to seeing her for the New Year."

Harry nodded, but did not reply.

Neville eyed his friend more closely, then he frowned. "You don't seem so happy for me. What is it? What is wrong?"

Harry shifted slightly in his seat, then he rubbed his chin for a moment before he spoke. "I'm worried, that is all. I am worried about why young Miss Greengrass chose you of all wizards out of the crowd this past summer."

Neville leaned back and his frown grew deeper. "Hey, I've made a lot of progress since we were in school, Harry. I'm not the young boy who seemed to be not much more than a squib who didn't even have his own wand. So, my friend, there must be some more specific reason for your concern."

"Now, please, don't take this the wrong way," said Harry as he shifted slightly in his seat. "While recently looking into my business holdings, I was also looking into the other businesses that are integral to my own. I fear that the Greengrass Import Company is not doing well. In fact, they could possibly be facing financial ruin if things don't turn around for them soon. So, to be honest, I am worried about the motivation of your lady friend. I would hate that she would be after you for your money, Neville."

"Astoria? A galleon hunting witch? That seems a little hard to imagine. But anyway, what are you saying, Harry? That I should break it off with her, over your fears?"

"No, no, not all," said Harry. "I simply want to advise caution. I don't know her mindset, I don't know her reasons. Now, I'm sure that any witch who got to know you would be completely enamoured with you. You are a great wizard, my friend. You've got courage, which you proved to everyone when you stood up to Riddle. You're smart enough to have been in Ravenclaw, no one I've ever met understands magical herbology the way you do. But I just have these concerns." Harry rubbed a hand through his hair, "I just don't want anyone taking advantage of you, that's all."

There was an awkward silence until Harry spoke up again. "Anyway, Neville, I will soon be investing in more businesses in Italy. And while I'm there, there's this nice little villa I have been eyeing on the Mediterranean, maybe we should go check it out soon."

"Sure, Harry, that sounds great," said Neville.

* * *

P&P 3.8

* * *

**January 2003**

The following week at the New Years celebration, Neville was a bit distant to Astoria. He did not stand as close to her, he did not hold her hand as often as he had done during their times together over the preceding months. She even asked him if something was wrong, but he denied that there was any problem. By the time she returned home, she was in tears due to the coldness she felt from her boyfriend.

Daphne tried to comfort her sister. "It must be something that Potter said to him," she muttered quietly, but Astoria heard her clearly.

Astoria spent more time in her room over the next several days. After this had gone on for a few days, Daphne brought her breakfast to her room.

"Look, Tori, I know you're upset, and I know you really like Neville," said Daphne as she place the tray of food on Astoria's bed. "But we need, no, you need to get out of bed, take care of yourself, and get over that jerk."

"But Neville is such a nice boy, I really, really like him," said Astoria, wiping a tear from her eye.

"But if he's friends with that conceited jerk, Potter, and taking advice from him, no one from the Slytherin, not even the sweetest girl I know, will be acceptable to Potter," said Daphne with a frown. "And if you're not acceptable to Potter, he will make sure Neville knows that. And while Neville did grow up a lot during the year before Potter finally defeated the…before he finally beat Riddle, he doesn't have enough of a back bone to stand up to Lord Potter-Black."

"But Tracey said he told you he doesn't hold anything against Slytherins, other than Malfoy," said Astoria as she sat up a little straighter.

"What Potter says and how he treats others are not necessarily the same thing," said Daphne, her voice a little gentler. "He might say politically expedient things, but when have you have seen Potter do something nice for someone from Slytherin?"

After a silent pause, Daphne continued. "See, no one has seen him do anything nice for Slytherins. He takes care of his friends. He makes a big public stink about taking care of all magical, but he doesn't have to do anything specifically for Slytherins and no one will all him out on it. He's gone from being the Gryffindor Golden Boy to Magical Britain's Golden Wizard."

"You really think so?" asked Astoria, as she reached for something to eat from the tray Daphne had brought to her.

"I had to put up with the berk for several months planning the memorial last summer and fall," said Daphne. "I had to work with him, and I learned he feels the entire magical world can just revolve around him."

"He didn't sound like that when he gave that speech at the memorial dedication," said Astoria. "Neville said Harry really does care about others, that he doesn't care what house anyone is from."

"And where is Neville now? Not by your side, is he," quipped Daphne. "So, either trust me on this, or risk getting your heart broken once again."

Astoria wrapped her arms around herself as she considered Daphne's words. "But Neville, he's always so nice."

"And Potter wants everyone to think he's nice but still insists on getting everything his own way," said Daphne. "Not even Longbottom will stand up to Potter. I'm sure he never has and that he never will."

Astoria looked up at her sister. Daphne stood up from the bed, caressed Astoria's cheek, and turned to walk out of the room. She stopped at the door and turned back to Astoria, "You know I only want what's best for you, Tori. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore. Why don't you get dressed and we'll go shopping or something."

Astoria took a deep breath, wiped her eye once more. "Well, give me a few minutes to finish this and then get dressed. Oh, and Daphne, thanks. For this breakfast and for this little talk."

"Anytime, Tori, anytime." Then Daphne turned, closed the door behind her and made her way down the hall.

* * *

P&P 3.9

* * *

By mid January, Neville had hardly seen Astoria at all. He had, however, accompanied Harry on several of his business meetings, as Harry had suggested that Neville learn to invest his family's wealth to better provide for his future.

Harry had another meeting with Gandor, and they had fully established J&L Holdings as the parent company that would run a number of businesses which Harry owned. This was set up so that there would be no clear direct tie to Harry, unless someone did a fair amount of digging.

February had arrived and Harry would be travelling to continental Europe once again. He planned to spend several months on his current trip. He invited Neville along for this trip. While Harry would be doing some business he also planned on spending time relaxing. He invited his friend to join him on a tour of muggle attractions and museums. Neville was amazed by the muggle artwork they saw, although it took him a while to get used to the fact that none of the people in any of the paintings would talk or move.

Harry had shown Neville many muggle gardens which he was particularly keen on seeing in the spring and summer. Neville was vaguely aware that many of places where they went to tour, Harry also had business meetings and was working on trade agreements between a number of companies.

"What is all this about?" asked Neville after Harry came back from one of his many meetings.

"Just trying to help secure the magical economy in England and Scotland and Wales," said Harry. "I have a number of businesses that will depend on continued trade. Even supplying potion ingredients to places like Hogwarts, and St. Mungo's and retail shops. Then again, you could probably start a business growing plants for potion supplies."

Neville had not considered selling any of his plants as potion ingredients. He asked Harry what it would take to get set up to do just that. Harry smiled at his friend. "It shouldn't be too hard to get you set up into a business for that. I have some connections and I can easily set up a market for you. My business manager would nee delighted to get it in the start of such a business with you I'm sure. With your skills in botany, you could easily be selling on the high end scale of the supplies."

"Is that good?" asked Neville, unsure of how this would all work.

"It would make your profits increase, you should easily be able to make sales and become a major player in the market," said Harry. "That is, if you set up some new greenhouses for production."

"You know how to do all of that?" asked Neville, a little surprised.

"No, I have people who know how to do that for me," he said with a smile. "Don't worry about it now, we'll get it all sorted after we return to England."

Neville smiled as he thought about returning to England. Then his smile turned to a frown, "Although, I really shouldn't have been ignoring Astoria during this time. You know, I really don't think that she's interested in me for my family's money."

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "Well, she shouldn't be. There's so much more to you than your family and their money. You're a great guy, Neville. You're a good friend and a powerful wizard, despite what everyone thought when you started at Hogwarts all those years ago."

Neville nodded in response. "At least we haven't spent our time going out to parties and clubs like we did previously on some of our trips here."

Harry rubbed his chin, "I don't know, that could be fun." He then laughed at his comment, "But then again, I have had some important business meetings on this trip, and it could have become too distracting if we had done those things again. Especially if it attracted the kind of media attention we had back then."

* * *

P&P 3.10

* * *

Cyrus Greengrass sat in his office, flipping through a stack of parchment in his hands. After studying the documents for several minutes, he placed them on the desk in front of him and let out a long sigh.

He looked up at the man seated across from him. "And just why do you think I would ever consider signing this?"

"Because, Lord Greengrass, it is beneficial. Beneficial to you and your family, as well as mine," said the man

"There seems to be more benefit for you and your family," said Cyrus. "This validates your family after everything that has happened, not just with the last war, but years of being a dark family, of being blood purists. It starts your family on a path to be accepted as decent magical citizens again."

"It is true that my family's name and reputation has been a little tarnished by the events of five years ago, and the fall out from that mess, but that was five years ago, and we are, I am, a new generation. For all of Potter's posturing about healing the magical world and helping out those who have been discriminated against, those who have had opportunities taken away from them, why shouldn't those families who have suffered since the end of the war simply for having ties to the House of Slytherin, for having family members who supported and perhaps acted as Death Eaters, why shouldn't those families be given a chance at redemption, a chance to benefit from this new world of magical Britain?"

"You speak as if there is nothing that you, or your family, or other families like yours, should have to do to make amends for the years, no, the generations of wrongs, of harassment and abuse that were continually levied against those families that were considered less desirable, less deserving…._less pure_."

"I cannot undo the sins of the generations that came before me. Potter asks everyone to accept the muggle-born, the half-bloods, the sentient creatures. All I am asking is for a chance to prove myself, not to prove my family's worth, but mine."

Cyrus rubbed his jaw slightly as he looked at the parchment once more.

The other man spoke up again. "There is plenty of financial advantage for your family. Your family business would once again be given a chance to prosper. Your family's reputation would not be harmed. You can make all the publicity you want about this, about how this continues our traditions, about how this can show hope for a future. Spin it however you like."

"But this contract, it is open ended, it does not specify which one of my daughters," said Cyrus, raising an eyebrow as he awaited the response.

"I knew them both at school. They are both fine young witches. They are both highly intelligent, not to mention also quite beautiful. They are both skilled in magic. I am sure that I could be happy with either of your daughters. Also, I saw how they handled themselves in the House of Slytherin, they were not intimidated by the followers of the Dark Lord. They held firmly to what they believed and did not follow the group that was very vocal in their support for He Who Must Not Be Named. Having seen them stay true to themselves in all of that, I am sure they are both strong enough to hold their own in a relationship with any man."

Cyrus rubbed the back of his neck as he considered this last statement from the man across from him. "I am not prepared to give you an answer tonight. I will, of course, discuss this with my wife." Cyrus leaned back, waiting on the response from the young man across from him.

"All understood and quiet expected. I am not meaning to rush you, just simply offering a proposal, a mutually beneficial opportunity." He then stood up and before walking out of the office, and then he added, "I will await your reply. I am patient, something I have learned from many years of watching and waiting as events unfolded around me during my years in school. I will accept whatever answer you give. Please be sure, there is no threat here in anyway for you to make a particular decision. And you _do_ know how to contact me."

With that the man slipped out the door of Lord Greengrass' office.

Cyrus took another deep breath. "This could work out well," he said to himself, "but I will not force anything on my daughters, on my family." Then he turned the stack of parchments upside down on his desk and closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

* * *

**AN: Another chapter with minimal beta review...**

**I will need to be working on a lot more editing on the next several chapters, but work may limit the amount of time I can spend on that.**

**So I am not sure when the next one will be posted, but hopefully getting three chapters out relatively quickly is appreciated and enjoyed...**


	5. Chapter 4

P&P4

* * *

**Spring 2003**

Astoria was upset, feeling that she had been largely ignored by Neville for several months. Even after he had returned to England in March, he had continued to have minimal contact with her.

By April, Olivia Greengrass called her two daughters for a meeting at the family estate. "You know that things have started to pick up a little bit for the family import business, and now we even have a few new contracts." The two girls nodded in reply, and Olivia continued, "But your father has continued to be concerned about the long term financial situation of the family."

Astoria was wondering where this conversation was leading to, but Daphne had a sinking feeling in her chest. "No, no, father shouldn't do that, we don't need to do that."

Astoria looked at Daphne, confusion showing on her face. "Do what? Sell the family business?"

Daphne scowled at first then gave her sister a smile. "No, not sell the family business, but sell _the family_. Sell one of _us_, you or me, Tori, in a marriage contract." Then she turned to face her mother. "That's what this is about, isn't it, mother? Who is the winning bidder?" Her voice was cold and angry.

"It's not like that, really," said Olivia with a sigh. She paused a moment before adding, "But yes, there is a marriage contract proposal. One of the old families, one of the families that is trying to rebuild their reputation after all of the fall out from the recent series of conflicts."

Daphne tried to stay calm, at least on the outside. "Stop, just stop. You don't need to use such foolish explanations with us. We lived through parts of it. It was not a series of _conflicts_, dammit. It was a series of _wars_, with intimidation and terrorism and fear being spread by people who were fuelled by hate as they followed a misguided half blood who preached blood purity. And despite all of this, while our family is pureblooded, one of the Sacred 28 for that matter, father _refused_ to step in line with the hate and bigotry of the Death Eaters. He resisted them through _both_ wars. I've heard those stories dozens of times. So why throw us in with one of _those_ families? Why now?"

Her mother took a deep breath before continuing. "The Nott family is _trying_ to rebuild their reputation," Olivia started again, trying to maintain her smile and pleasant demeanour. "Their son, Theo, is of your age. He never took the mark, although it is true that many in his family did. The Notts were previously a powerful family, many leaders of the magical world are in their family history. They just want to make a new start. Well, Theo at least wants to make a new start. Aligning themselves, or at least himself, with your father, with _our_ family, will show the rest of the magical world just how much that they have changed."

Daphne shook her head at her mother's words. "No, no, no! It is simply designed to get money into father's bank accounts, to keep his business afloat. And all by selling one of us to the highest bidder," complained Daphne.

"Daphne, you must see reason here," argued her mother.

"Mother, what _you_ will see if you try to force me to go through with this is _our_ family being torn apart," snapped Daphne. "I would rather die or run away, or even give up my magic to avoid being married against my will to anyone!"

With that she stormed off to her room.

Astoria was wide eyed. "You would really make one of us marry someone against our will? Just to make money for the family? As a business deal? Is that all we are to you? Nothing more than chattel?"

"No, honey, it's not like that at all," pleaded Olivia with her youngest daughter.

"Then apparently I don't understand what you're telling me. And if I don't understand, then I also don't understand why this would make Daphne as upset as she is." With that statement Astoria got up and went to find her sister.

Olivia sat alone at the table as she watched her children leave the room. She took a deep breath, and then said to herself, "Well, that could have gone better."

* * *

P&P 4.2

* * *

The following day at dinner, the Greengrass family was eating together despite the irritation on the part of both of the daughters.

Lord Greengrass had obviously heard about the less than stellar encounter his wife had the previous day with the girls. After they had been eating in relative silence for over fifteen minutes, he cleared his throat loudly. All of the women looked over at him.

"I know that you were upset by what your mother said yesterday, Daphne. And you too, Astoria. But hear me out. I would like to arrange for an opportunity for young Mister Nott to spend some time with our family. That way we can all get to know him better. I know, I know, you went to school with Theodore, you were even in the same house as him, but people have changed over the past several years, yourself included." He took a pause and drank a glass of water before continuing, "I am not promising anything to the Nott family. But as a measure of good faith, we could at least meet with him. Even if it is just a walk through a park, a visit to a museum, even somewhere in muggle London, perhaps." He paused as he let his words sink in with his daughters. "So, I was expecting that we would do this as a family, and do this next Saturday."

Daphne dropped her knife and fork on her plate with a loud clatter. "So, it's down to this then? You're deciding my future for me now?"

"No dear, we are not," interjected Olivia. "Your father said that there would be absolutely _no_ commitment. All we said is that we would just have a simple get together. Could you at least be willing to compromise and join us?"

"Under one condition," agreed Daphne reluctantly.

"And what would that be?" asked her father hesitantly.

"I would like to have Tracey join us, she should be off that day, she doesn't work at St. Mungo's next weekend. At least I would have some sort of tolerable company for the day. "

"That should be fine," stated her mother. "It will be fine, won't it, dear?" she said, directing the question to her husband.

Lord Greengrass rubbed his brow, took a deep breath, and sighed before replying to his wife. "Well, if doing that will make it happen, then, yes, of course, by all means, invite Tracey to join us. She is, after all, nearly family, considering how much you two have done together since you were barely walking."

* * *

P&P 4.3

* * *

**12 April 2003, Saturday **

Tracey Davis had arrived early in the morning to meet up with the Greengrass family before they took the floo into Diagon Alley. There would be only a short walk from there to either The National Museum, or St. James' Park. They would meet up with Theodore Nott there, and depending on the weather, they would spend it walking through the park or touring the art museum. As there had been snow only a couple of days ago in London, they were not sure what to expect. However, the weather turned out to be seasonably warm, and there was no threat of rain as far as they could tell when they set out to London.

Daphne had actually liked the idea of touring a muggle area, as that would give them an opportunity to evaluate how much Theodore had actually changed from his family's old prejudices, as he would be forced to interact with muggles. While the Greengrass family was part of the Sacred 28, they did not view themselves as superior to other families that were not counted among those. Considering the definitive source of information on the Sacred 28 was written by Theodore's great grandfather, then that would help the entire family see exactly where the young wizard stood on this issue and perhaps other issues as well.

When they arrived at the entrance to the park they quickly found Theodore, who, surprisingly enough, was dressed so that he could easily fit in to the muggle world. While that did get the attention of Daphne, she still wasn't impressed with having to spend the day with the young man.

The four Greengrass family members, plus Tracey, as well as Theodore, started to make their way around the park. Daphne remained quiet throughout the stroll, but Tracey, who was always the more outgoing of the two best friends, easily struck up a conversation with the young wizard. Daphne smiled to herself, recalling how Tracey was always more at ease with making new friends during their time at Hogwarts, whether it be with the children of Death Eaters, or those who were muggle-born.

As they made their way past the pavilion and walked along the path near the lake, Theodore saw a large bird swimming in the lake. "My, what a pretty duck," he commented.

"That's a black swan," commented Daphne, rolling her eyes.

A minute later he pointed at another, and commented about the small swan with the red and green head.

"That is a teal duck," corrected Tracey with a laugh.

"Is that a swan or a duck?" asked Theo as he pointed at a large white bird with a long beak.

"That's a pelican," stated Tracey.

Theo rubbed his face in embarrassment. "Well, I tried to learn a little about muggle society, but it is quite clear that I never studied their birds or their parks."

"Well, at least you learned how to dress appropriately for a muggle outing," said Tracey.

"I wold imagine this would be a difficult day for you, what with your family's heritage," commented Astoria.

Olivia Greengrass gasped slightly at her daughter's remark and put her hand to her face.

Theodore ignored Olivia's reaction and paused in his walking at this point as he considered the statement made by Astoria. "If by my family's heritage you are referring to the tome penned by my great-grandfather, then I don't see that there is any issue. That book outlined which families had maintained pure-blood traditions for many generations. In fact, several of the so-called Sacred Twenty-Eight are either now extinct, or have already mixed their lineage with half-bloods. The Gaunt family, as Lord-Potter Black has pointed out, is now extinct. As is the Crouch family, and the Lestrange family, both of those lines being eliminated completely at the conclusion of the last war. The Weasley family will no longer be pure-bloods within the next generation, which is surprising in itself that it has taken this long for them to lose their status. Well, their status according to what my _great-grandfather_ wrote. The Abbots, as well as the Blacks, have both already lost their status as part of the so called Sacred Twenty-Eight. And it may not be long until several other families are no longer around."

"Does he even stop to take a breath when he goes on like that?" wondered Astoria, realising too late that she had spoken her thoughts out loud.

"It's almost like listening to Hermione Granger on one of her rants at school," observed Tracey.

"Considering that Miss Granger was one of the top students in our class during our years at Hogwarts, then yes, in spite of what my ancestors would have said, I _will_ take that as a compliment," replied Theo with a slight smile.

"He even replies like Granger," added Daphne with a shake of her head.

"I spent years in the shadows of Slytherin House," began Theo as he had turned and faced the group and his tone became more formal. "In fact, I was really not too different than yourself, Miss Greengrass," he added as he directed his comments to Daphne. "What with the likes of Draco Malfoy in our year, who became the leader of our class by default, considering no one dared to stand up to his arrogance and his bullying and intimidation; and then with the older students in our house who all had clearly defined alliances, such as Flint, Avery, and Selwyn, there was no point, at least in my opinion, of painting a target on one's back by even trying to defy any of them." Theo paused a moment to let his statement sink in to his small audience. Then he shrugged his shoulders slightly as he continued, "Cowardly? Perhaps. Cunning, and perhaps even ambitious, in that it was a means of safely waiting in the wings for the right moment? Possibly. Or at least it makes for a better tale than being afraid of the consequences of opposing the bullies. But then again, it's not like any of us were sorted into Gryffindor after all."

"My, that is quite open minded for the great-grandson of Cantakerus Nott," stated Olivia Greengrass as a smile appeared on her face.

Lord Greengrass cleared his throat, and once the attention was on him, he then asked Theodore a pointed question. "Tell me, young man, just what is it that you have occupied your time with since completing your studies at the end of the war?"

Theodore bowed his head slightly in deference to Lord Greengrass. "Well, like many from the class that started with your oldest daughter, I had to return for a repeat of the seventh year after the travesty of an excuse for our education in magic that our supposed seventh year became. Since completing my studies and earning a number of NEWTs, I have been concentrating on learning my role as a member of the Wizengamot, not too different from what the Lord Potter-Black has been doing; however, I do have my father to apprentice under."

Lord Greengrass tilted his head slightly in deference to the response.

"But to ease all of your minds," Theodore continued as he pulled back the sleeve of his left arm, "as you can see there is no mark, there is no scar. While it is known that those who took the Dark Mark that while the mark has faded significantly since the demise of He Who Must Not Be Named, there is still a scar or imprint left behind. Neither myself nor my father ever took the mark. But to be clear with all of you, I am not so foolish and blind to deny that my father actually supported the Dark Lord. In contrast, however, I have never done anything personally that would have been seen as support for him."

"Except for not speak out publicly during that last year of the war against what the Death Eaters were doing at the school," muttered Daphne under her breath.

Daphne's father nodded in response to Theodore's baring of his arm and he deliberately chose to ignore his daughter's remark. "While I am personally glad that you were not directly involved with the Death Eaters, it is well known that your family, that your father in particular, openly supported the Dark Lord. Now, you are here before us, distancing yourself from this, may I be so bold as to say, from this stain on our society. Yet, your family heritage would indicate that your current stance is highly unexpected. There is a difference, in my opinion, between supporting the old traditions, and refusing to allow those who are new to our society, to our world, to learn about and fully participate in our traditions."

Theo shifted on his feet and rubbed his left wrist with his right hand, conscious of the number of his relatives who had or at least had desired to take the mark. "I would have to agree with you, Lord Greengrass, on that very issue. We need to make an effort to teach our ways to the muggle-born, to those who are new to our society. The thinking of the Death Eaters was that those who were different needed to be excluded or even worse, completely eliminated. That is not simply short sighted, but it is also cruel and ignorant. The lies of the administration that was controlled by the Dark Lord, that muggle-born had somehow stolen magic, are completely indefensible and simply just defy logic. If muggles truly know nothing about our society, as the Statutes of Secrecy would dictate, then how could they learn about magic, and how could they steal it from anyone? There is no evidence that such a thing could ever happen. While certain dark rituals, illegal rituals, may steal magic from one individual to increase the strength of another, this requires magic in the first place and a complex ritual which quite possibly would only be known to the darkest of pure-blood families."

"If we're going to get even more lectures from him," complained Astoria, can we at least go find a place to sit down?"

Her father nodded in approval. "That does sound like a good idea, perhaps we can find a place to sit."

Olivia added, "When I looked at the map, there seemed to be an indication of a place where we could sit not far ahead. There are benches in a number of areas."

The group made their way around to the Duck Island Cottage where they were able to find some chairs to sit down.

Along their way to the Duck Island, Lord Greengrass surreptitiously cast a silencing spell around the group so that muggles who were nearby would not be able to understand what they were discussing, as he wanted to be sure that they did not inadvertently violate the Statues of Secrecy while on their little family outing.

Once they had all settled into chairs or on benches, Lord Greengrass started the conversation once again as he asked the Nott heir to continue to explain what he had done with his time since he completed his schooling at Hogwarts.

"Yes, well, once I had my education completed, I started to work on learning my role in the Wizengamot, as I will someday be taking over that position from my father. Lord Potter-Black has been an excellent example of someone who is taking their new role in our society very seriously, and, not surprisingly, he has become a leader at our young age and has shown others that he is quite knowledgable about a good many things," explained Theodore.

"Yes, that is all well and good," said Lord Greengrass, "but how do you plan on supporting a family? It is well known that the once vast fortune of the Nott family was greatly diminished over the years due to your father and grandfather before him, well due to their support of the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters. Rumour has it that your family has even been forced to sell off a number of properties so as to be able to continue to maintain Nott Manor."

Theodore rubbed the back of his neck. "I really am looking forward to finding a new way to support the Nott family," he began. "Clearly, the old ways of hunting magical beasts and selling off their parts to potion masters and apothecaries is not something that I can continue. I really am not cut out to be an Auror. A professional politician, or bureaucrat, that is not something I see myself doing."

Lord Greengrass was about to make a comment when a voice called out to his wife. Her sister had just arrived at the park. Katerina Dedworth had come to meet up with Olivia and her family and she had her daughter, Silene, who had graduated from Hogwarts a couple of years perviously. Silene was a slender witch, with dark blue eyes, and wavy blonde hair. She resembled Daphne to an extent, although her facial features were not quite as striking.

Theodore was quietly relieved to have the interruption as he was not prepared to reply to any further questions from Lord Greengrass.

Daphne, who truly cared for her cousin and was happy to see her, was frustrated, however, as she was looking forward to seeing how much discomfort that her father could bring to her potential suitor. Hopefully, she thought, his lack of ability to explain any future plans, unless he hoped his future plans were going to contain taking over the Greengrass family business, would lead her parents to see that Theodore Nott really was not someone they should pursue a contract with at any cost.

However, what surprised Daphne the most as she stood up to greet her cousin, was how close Tracey was standing next to Theo. Somehow they seemed to be getting along in a rather smashing fashion. But then again, before the end of the war, no self respecting Nott would ever consider becoming involved with a half-blood witch, such as Tracey Davis, even if they had been sorted into Slytherin.

Daphne shook her head slightly and then gave her cousin a hug.

"So, what can we do here?" asked Silene. "It's a muggle park, right? Maybe they have some place that sells ice cream or something."

Astoria turned to her father, "Is there an ice cream stand here? Can we go?"

Cyrus chuckled at the behaviour of the girls. "There may be some place just a little farther around this pond. But you will need muggle money, they won't take any galleons and they would wonder where you're from and why you have such strange coins if you even tried to pay them with our currency."

The four girls' excitement faded quickly at that thought.

Olivia crossed her arms and gave her husband a pointed look. "Which is why you made sure you had some British pounds, is it not, Cyrus?"

The girls' eyes all lit up and they looked from Olivia to Lord Greengrass.

Cyrus smiled a little as he reached into his coat and pulled out his wallet and handed Daphne some bills. "Fine, fine, you young ladies run ahead."

With that, the four girls started to make their way around the pond as they began their hopeful search for an afternoon treat.

Olivia and her sister, Katerina, started to follow the four young women. "We're just going to keep an eye on them."

Cyrus smiled broadly and then he turned to face Theo. "You're not going to chase after the young ladies?"

Theo shook his head slightly. "No, not at this time. I think that might have been rather presumptuous of me to force myself into their company just now."

Cyrus shrugged slightly. "We did come to have you spend time with my family, with my daughters."

Theodore nodded slightly as he turned to directly face Lord Greengrass. "I hope that I have neither spoken out of turn nor offended anyone so far today with my words. Particularly with everything we were talking about before Daphne and Astoria's cousin and aunt arrived."

Cyrus laughed slightly, "Offended? I highly doubt that. Entertained? Perhaps a little. Although, to be honest I believe that it is much too soon to tell if anything could possibly develop into an actual relationship, with either of my daughters."

Theo raised his eyebrows. "I will take that as a positive start. I can only hope that I can prove myself to you, to your wife and perhaps one of your daughters, to be a man of his word, a wizard of some skill and wit, and not beholden to the prejudices of my family before me."

Cyrus casually rubbed the back of his neck. "We all have our own prejudices, young man. Some are more dangerous than others. Some we hold onto too tightly and we will break before we change those views. Some we hold onto carefully, willing to let them be changed when we hear or see something that contradicts those prejudices. While we may be in part defined by our prejudices, we may be better defined by our ability to learn, to change, to grow as we gain more knowledge and experience."

"Wise words, from a wise man, I am sure," said Theo in reply.

"Don't try too hard to impress me, Mister Nott," chided Cyrus. "Words of wisdom that come from experience and from not blindly following propaganda and from being willing to listen and to learn. That is what I have to offer."

Theo smiled slightly. "Then I shall endeavour to emulate you and your wisdom."

Cyrus shook his head. "You can ease up young man, because it is not me that you will need to convince of any to this, but one of those young ladies. And I think you may find, if you do not already know this, that they may not be so easy to impress."

Theo nodded slowly and swallowed hard.

Cyrus smiled slightly and added, "Let's go see if we can find the women."

* * *

**AN: A short chapter, but moving the story along.**


	6. Chapter 5

Potter and Prejudice 5

* * *

**2003**

Harry and Neville had travelled around Europe throughout much of February and March, however Harry needed to return to the ministry on several occasions as he had meetings with both Kingsley Shacklebolt and Daphne Greengrass to plan the fifth anniversary celebration of the end of the war against Tom Riddle and the Death Eaters.

Ron Weasley had not bothered to show up to any of the planning meetings, and they were never sure just why as he had been invited each time. Hermione joined Harry for several of the meetings and Harry requested that Neville come to the meetings with him, as after all, he was responsible for defeating Nagini.

Kingsley had been informed about the details of just why this was important in securing the victory over Riddle. "Yes, of course we should include Longbottom. His importance in the war cannot be overlooked. But we need to keep the information about some of the events that needed to happen a secret, so no one else tries to repeat what Riddle had done."

Daphne was about to ask what the importance was, other than just killing the abnormally large snake that everyone believed was He Who Must Not Be Named's familiar, but Harry and Hermione exchanged a look that stopped her from asking anything further.

Kingsley noticed the discomfort on Daphne's face, "Suffice it to say, Miss Greengrass, some of what is discussed here is considered classified information, and while we will not be discussing any more specifics today, I expect that you will be able to refrain from even mentioning that a secret topic was even brought up. Am I clear, Miss Greengrass?"

Daphne nodded silently, her mind wondering just what the group had gotten themselves into during the war. After all, everyone knew that the golden trio of Gryffindor had avoided school that entire year, and that they all showed up just before the Battle of Hogwarts, but no one really spoke about what the three of them had been up to instead of attending Hogwarts. Her mind was racing with questions that she knew would probably never get answered, at least not now that the minister had told her these things were classified. Where had they been hiding? What were they doing? Were they training? Were they on the run or in hiding? Daphne put all of those nagging thoughts away as she tried to concentrate on the rest of the meeting.

The group did then agree that it it was necessary to acknowledge that Neville played an important part in the war - not only in killing the snake and showing his defiance against Tom Riddle, but also with his work in protecting many of the students during that academic year when the Death Eaters controlled the school.

Daphne continued to busy herself writing notes about the details of the discussion as Harry had made his desires for the celebration clear.

"This is not to just be about me, but about _everyone_ who sacrificed so that order and justice could be returned to the magical world," said Harry.

Upon hearing Harry make this pronouncement, Daphne raised an eyebrow, surprised by his statement, but quickly she ducked her head and concentrated on her note taking before anyone might notice her reaction.

Hermione agreed with Harry. "Of course we should keep the focus off of what we were doing during the school year. We need to focus on those who defied the Death Eaters, and also on those who came and joined the fight at Hogwarts."

Daphne was a little confused about what Hermione was referring to, but it was clear to her that the others all understood something that she was not privy to, which was more than likely what the minister had referenced earlier, and as she looked at the others in the room, it was clear she would not be receiving any more information about this topic either.

The discussion then moved on to what else should be covered during the ceremony and who should be celebrated. Neville shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Hermione once again mentioned his work during the school year for protecting students when Hogwarts was controlled by the Death Eaters.

Harry summarised what they had agreed upon. "So, at the ceremony, we will honour Neville and all that he did, then we need to acknowledge the students who stayed behind to help fight during the battle. We need to acknowledge the efforts of all those who fought at Hogwarts. Although, I'm not sure how we address everything that Professor Snape had done, as that would raise too many questions that I don't think we want to be asked or answered."

Daphne looked at the paper in front of her as she silently muttered to herself, "More bloody secrets! What in Merlin's name did they really do to defeat the Dark Lord?"

"Are you getting all of this?" asked the minister.

Daphne snapped her head up quickly in response. "Yes, yes I am, sir. Don't worry about that."

Kingsley nodded at her and then turned his attention back to Harry and Hermione. "We lost many good people during that battle, we can't forget that."

Harry shook his head. "No, no, of course note, but this is about celebrating the actions of everyone involved. The ceremony you had back in October, that was to commemorate all those who died. We want to keep the two events separate in people's minds. One is to honour those who died, and the other one is to celebrate the work and the efforts that were put in to win the battle and the war. There were many small sacrifices that people made throughout that year that made a difference for both how the war went, and then ultimately how the final battle was won."

Hermione shook her head slightly. "But Harry, we need to at least acknowledge those who died during the final battle at Hogwarts. Many students and some faculty and other members of the Order of Phoenix died that day. Plus there were members of the DMLE who died that night as well. Yes, their names have already been recognised during the memorial ceremony in October, and all of their names are on the memorial, but it's important to recall that these individuals gave their all in the fight that ended the war."

Daphne suppressed a smirk at observing Granger and Potter argue. And soon this particular meeting had come to an end, and she knew she would have to keep her many questions to herself. The mystery of what Potter and Granger had done would continue to nag at her, but she understood she would probably never learn anything more about the details.

As time went on, Daphne was having a difficult time with some of the meetings due to the presence of both Harry and Neville. It didn't take much for verbal sparring to occur between Harry and Daphne, although she would often stick to taking notes and try and avoid interacting with him during those times. She appreciated it when others would verbally spar with Potter as it helped her concentrate on her role and she would just allow the others to argue.

At one one of the meetings in March, the discussion turned to families of those who had fought at the battle.

Daphne needed clarification for the celebration. "Is this celebration going to be just for those who were there? Or are the friends and families of those who fought going to be invited to join in celebrating everyone's accomplishments?"

Neville considered her comments, and then he nodded in agreement. "We want everyone to remember what happened. We want everyone to know about it. So, yes, we should specifically invite families to the celebration, although the entire wizarding world will know about it."

Neville then noted that Hermione seemed to be concerned about something more. "Wait, is there something more you wanted to ask, Hermione?"

"What about muggle relatives?" she asked, wiping a tear from her eye as she recalled what she had done to her parents in an effort to keep them safe from Death Eater attacks. Before anyone could answer, she continued. "Like my parents. I was hoping that they could be there. Well, I'd have to contact them in Australia, and see if they would be willing to come back to England for this."

Daphne looked between Hermione and Neville as she dropped her quill on the parchment in front of her, wondering what Australia had to do with anything.

"Family should be invited to the celebration," reiterated Neville. "Hermione, you should let your parents decide if they want to attend. We can figure out the logistics of having muggles come to the celebration later, if necessary."

Then he looked at Harry. "What about you? Are you going to invite your relatives?"

Harry's jaw dropped at the question. "Who? Wait, you mean my aunt and uncle? And my cousin?"

Neville and Hermione both nodded in reply.

"I think my uncle and, hell, probably even my aunt, well, they would probably not react very well to being invited to a ceremony for a bunch of freaks," said Harry.

Hermione, Neville and Kingsley all winced at Harry's words, while Daphne worked to keep the surprise from showing on her face.

"Well, they basically have ignored me and have made it clear they want nothing to do with me ever since that summer," Harry said by way of explanation. "Although, I'm really not sure about Dudley. Well, ever since that incident with the Dementors near their house, back before fifth year, all Dudley remembers about that event is that I actually saved him from, well, from the dementors, not that he has any idea what was really happening considering he couldn't see them or hear them. He only felt the cold and the despair."

Daphne looked away from Harry as it became clear to her that Harry's claims that he was attacked by Dementors in a muggle neighbourhood were true, despite what the minister and his undersecretary tried to say to the contrary about that event that summer and all of the many articles published in the Daily Prophet about Potter and Dumbledore being crazy and telling lies. It had been proven they were not lying about He Who Must Not Be Named, so it shouldn't have been a surprise to her that they weren't lying about the dementors.

Kingsley rubbed his chin slightly before adding his own comments on the topic. "Inviting muggles, even with it being muggles who know about magic, and even if they are relatives of people being honoured, well, that may not go over well with many in our world." He looked at the others in the room before he added, "But I suppose that we can at least start to work on finding a way to make it happen."

Hermione spoke up in response to his comments. "Sir, not inviting muggle relatives would be giving into pressure from the blood purists, the ones who supported Riddle, the ones who lost this war. We should be able to invite who we choose to, because it is the right thing to do."

Kingsley nodded slowly as he replied, "I see your point, and we will do all that we can to bring your relatives, any muggle relatives that are invited, to the celebration."

At the end of the meeting, Harry realised that he really didn't know what had become of his cousin over the past several years and mentioned this to the minister. Kingsley reassured him that the DMLE would look into the matter for him.

A week later Harry received a message from Kingsley that Dudley Dursley was currently serving in the British Army, and even had information on how to contact him. Daphne was assigned to accompanied Harry when he went to go meet with his cousin, who managed to get permission to leave his base to have lunch with them and this was arranged to occur in mid April.

* * *

P&P 5.2

* * *

**16 April, 2003, Wednesday**

Harry was surprised to see that Dudley had slimmed down, although he maintained a solid frame, which was more muscular now. They met outside the restaurant, and Harry made the introductions. "Dudley, this is Daphne Greengrass, special assistant to the Minister for Magic. Miss Greengrass, this is my cousin, Lieutenant Dudley Dursley."

Dudley bowed his head slightly as he offered to shake her hand. Daphne shook his hand and smiled slightly in return.

"Let's head on in, we have a table reserved in the back," commented Harry. As they stepped into the restaurant Harry spoke quietly with the greeter, and they were soon escorted to their table. As they were being seated, Harry wandlessly added a charm to prevent their conversation from being overheard by any others in the room.

After they perused the menus, Daphne spoke to Dudley. "So, you grew up with the _famous_ Harry Potter."

Dudley frowned at the comment. "Well, we didn't, or at least**I **didn't know that Harry was famous. He was _different_, we knew that, my dad made sure _everyone_ knew that. Although we didn't really know what was different about him. And, well, my dad made it clear he didn't want Harry around at all." Dudley turned to Harry with a look of panic on his face. He whispered to Harry, "I didn't know we were going to be talking about all this. I mean, it's not like _I_ think you're a freak, or at least not ever since that incident years ago. Is it okay? Really?"

Daphne had overheard his words which were not nearly as quiet as Dudley had hoped. "We don't need to discuss anything you're not comfortable with. We just need to talk about the upcoming celebration."

Harry's cheeks flushed slightly with relief that he didn't have to answer any questions about what happened when he was growing up.

Daphne looked briefly at Harry, noticed his reaction, and then turned back to Dudley. "We need to let you know about how things will work with you coming to the celebration. You are coming to the celebration, aren't you?"

Dudley was about to answer when the waitress came up to take their orders. After the waitress left, Daphne turned to Dudley once more.

"Well, I guess so. It's not like I know any of the others who were involved. But then again, Harry did save me that one time." Dudley looked back and forth between Harry and Daphne. "I mean, if he wants me there, but I didn't think that Harry would want that."

Daphne raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Harry, whose face had paled slightly.

Harry looked to Daphne and saw that she was staring at him, awaiting his response. "Well, Dudley is the only family I really have left. I mean, I don't have any real relationship with his parents." Harry paused and noted that Daphne was still waiting on him to say something more. "But, yeah, Dudley, well, there was that whole incident with the dementors, and well, he might like hearing some of the stories."

Harry looked at Dudley, his eyes pleading for Dudley to say something else.

"Right," said Dudley. "It's not like we were that close, growing up. But, there was that time, as Harry said, with those things, I couldn't even see them, but I could feel them sucking my life away, sucking my happiness away. And, Harry, he used magic, _real magic,_ to, save me. I'll never forget that he did that. Was much better than the first time I experienced magic."

"First time?" asked Daphne.

Dudley turned red and Harry's face turned into a slight smile. He then noticed Daphne was looking at him, clearly anticipating an explanation.

Daphne looked back and forth between the two young men and realised that whatever they weren't saying to her was not going to become public knowledge.

"Moving right along then. So, Dudley," she said trying to ease the tension, "if you want to come to this ceremony, then we will have to arrange for you to travel there. The ministry can do that for you. You'll have to follow a few specific rules, and you'll have to make a promise to not tell anyone about what you see."

Dudley laughed slightly at that. "That's no problem, ma'am."

Daphne flinched at her being called 'Ma'am' by Dudley.

"We knew something was different about Harry. I just never understood it, that's all." Dudley looked at Harry for a moment and then back to Daphne. "It's not like anyone would have believed me if I told the about that time that really big guy gave me a pig's tail. Still hurts to think about it. But once I understood a little bit about magic, it sure explained a lot of things about Harry."

Daphne was curious about what he meant. "What sort of things?" she asked.

Harry groaned in frustration at the continuing of the conversation.

"Well, his disappearing when, well, when my friends and I would chase him. He would disappear and suddenly he would be on top of the school or something, or just impossible to find. Then there was the time that he did something, we didn't see anything happen mind you, but all of the sudden the teacher's hair was blue. And not some old granny hair blue, but blue, like on the flag. That kind of blue."

Daphne leaned back as she listened to what she had heard. Turning to Harry she gave a slight smile before she commented on Dudley's story. "So, this clearly happened _before_ you came to Hogwarts. Accidental magic, well, accidentally apparating! Most kids when they did accidental magic they might summon a toy, or make something change colours, like your teacher's hair apparently."

Dudley was surprised that this woman with Harry didn't know all of Harry's story. "Wait, didn't he ever tell you about those things?"

Daphne shook her head, "No , of course not. It's not like we really had much in common back when we were at school."

The conversation was interrupted briefly as their food arrived. After the waitress left once more, Daphne spoke with Dudley again. She wondered if she would be able to get any more interesting stories from the cousin of the Boy Who Lived. "So, as I was saying, we can arrange for you to come to the ceremony. There would be a few restrictions about where you can or cannot go once you arrived at the location. But as you already know about magic, and witches and wizards, there would not be any conflicts with your attending."

Dudley nodded and turned to Harry. "I think you're right about dad. He wouldn't want to know anything about this, or any of this 'freakishness,' to use _his_ term."

Harry tilted his head slightly, "Oh, well, thanks, I think."

Daphne raised another eyebrow at this interaction.

Harry noticed her reaction and immediately looked down at the plate of food in front of him.

Dudley noticed Harry's discomfort, wondering if it was because of what he had said or if it was because of Daphne being present.

Harry decided to change the discussion and he looked up at his cousin. "So, Dudley, you're an officer now. In the army."

Dudley put his fork down and wiped his mouth with a napkin, surprising Harry with the manners which he had learned.

"Yeah, well, after that summer, I realised that I needed to take life more seriously. That happens when one faces death." Dudley took a slight breath before continuing his explanation. "Well, at Smeltings, I focused more on my classes and I worked harder in the boxing club. I lost some of my old friends, but I made new ones. And well, things continued to improve for me. And with my grades and my sports and all, and one of my new friends had family in the army and such, and things just flowed from there."

Dudley looked down for a moment and then looked back at Harry. "You wouldn't want to know about that though. It must be boring, my typical life, and you with all your magic and your war you fought in and you won."

"But why the Army?" asked Harry.

"Well, we did hear that you won your war," said Dudley, his voice hesitant as he continued. "And, well, you had saved me. And I knew there was no way I could pay you back. But I figured maybe I could do something that helps someone else, that maybe protect someone else. So, yeah, that's why, I guess."

Harry's eyes widened at the confession from his cousin. "Oh, I see. That's, erm, that's interesting, really." Harry shifted slightly in his seat and turned back to his meal.

Daphne tried not to stare at the man sitting across from her who seemed so humbled by what he had just been told. This was not the Harry Potter she thought she had known from school and from the many meetings which they had together over the past year.

The meal finished with less conversation. As Harry took care of paying the tab, Daphne spoke up again to Dudley. "Now, we will be in touch with you soon, to make all the arrangements for your being present at the ceremony as Harry's guest."

"I shouldn't have a problem arranging to have that day off from my assignment," said Dudley with a slight smile.

The three left the restaurant shortly after this, and Dudley haled a cab to take back to his base. Harry and Daphne then made their way towards an alley to apparate away.

"So, Potter," said Daphne as they turned a corner, "you seemed to be a little uncomfortable throughout the entire meal."

"Don't worry about it, Greengrass," said Harry, trying to end any further discussion.

Daphne was about to say something further when Harry turned around and cast a notice me not charm on them. Then he promptly apparated away without another word to her.

* * *

P&P5.3

* * *

**2 May, 2003**

Dudley arrived at Hogwarts via a special floo connection. He had been escorted there by one of the members of the DMLE. Once he had arrived, he was greeted by Daphne Greengrass, who was acting as his guide for the day. A room off of the main entrance had been set up just for this floo connection which was used by others coming in for the celebration. Daphne pointed out some of the features of the castle, including the Great Hall, before taking him outside. Dudley was silent but wide eyed as he was shown the outside of the castle and the surrounding grounds.

Dudley was wondering when he would meet up with Harry this day. He had previously sensed that Harry was interested in Daphne after they had met for lunch the previous month. He also knew that his cousin was awkward, at best, around women. Even though he had gotten to know Harry a little better and he had learned more about the magical society, he still did not understand all of the ins and outs of how the wizarding world worked and viewed things.

The celebration for the end of the war kicked off with activities at Hogwarts on Friday, 2 May. Classes had ben canceled for the day.

Dudley was brought back to the Great Hall for one of the planned activities, a question and answer panel with Harry, Hermione and Ron who had all arrived earlier that morning. The organisers had arranged for the trio to meet with students and answer the students' questions about the war. Ron had become increasingly irritable over the course of the day as most of the attention was on Harry, and some of it was also on Hermione. Ron had little to say and he had little to do other than sit on the raised platform with the other two.

Ron took a deep breath as he realised that there were advantages to the fact that he didn't have to answer any questions about what he had done most of the year that they were on the run. For the most part, no one really knew that he had abandoned Harry and Hermione on their mission to obtain the horcruxes, although it was not public knowledge just what they were attempting to do that year that they weren't in school. Most people had simply assumed that they were being chased by the Snatchers and the Death Eaters and just did a better job than almost everyone else in not getting caught. Others had thought that the trio was getting special magical training, but no one knew would possibly giving them such training after Dumbledore had died the previous spring.

Harry deflected direct questions about why he was on the run, simply stating that it was a matter of survival and trying to figure out the best plan to confront Tom Riddle. Hermione was asked about her role, and she explained that she worked to keep things on track, to help figure out a plan to keep them safe, but it was Harry's plan to return to the school to force a confrontation. The two made it clear that they knew that in order for Tom Riddle to be defeated that they would have to defeat his snake, and to destroy magical artefacts that he had been using as a means of protection. No one really knew what those artefacts were and the Ministry and the DMLE were careful to not release any more than the most basic information that Harry and Hermione were cleared to discuss.

Finally, one of the students asked just how it was that Harry had survived as it was widely told to witches and wizards that Voldemort had struck him down with a killing curse in the middle of the Forbidden Forest and brought his body back to the school to prove to everyone there that he, Riddle, had been victorious. Harry turned to Hermione who shook her head, "No, I'm not touching that one, that is your question and yours alone," she said.

Harry was now standing and walking back and forth as he answered questions, and ran his hand through his hair. "Well, some people have surmised that my body is just immune to the killing curse; however, I would prefer to not ever try and prove that theory correct, or have it proved incorrect." He paused as the audience laughed at his quip. "And some have suggested that I was protected as an infant by some ritual that my mother had done and that somehow that has continued to protect me from the attacks of the former Dark Lord Voldemort, who is otherwise known as Tom Riddle, or actually, Tom Marvolo Riddle."

There was not much of a reaction to Harry using the once feared name among the students as they had many years of not living in fear of him and his followers.

"Still, others have suggested that it had to do with being a willing sacrifice. I knew that Riddle planned on killing me. He had announced to all those who were protecting this very castle that night that he would spare them all if they would give me to him. I chose to go into the forest and face him, to lay my life down if that would save my friends and all those fighting against him. My friends didn't even know that I had left. Was I trying to be a martyr? Or the hero? I don't think so, I just wanted the killing and the violence and the evil to stop. Did I know that I would survive? No, I actually thought that I would die, but I had hoped that my sacrifice would some how lead to others being able to defeat him. In fact, my death did not cause fear amongst my friends and supporters. No, it did the opposite. It emboldened them. You have heard the stories of what happened that day. My good friend, Lord Neville Longbottom, stepped up. Many thought him to be a near squib prior to that day, but they were wrong, so very wrong. Neville stepped forward when Riddle asked for any who would join his side. Some actually thought that Neville was giving up. But, no, he stepped forward and when asked why he had done that, he declared that he was stepping forward as he would never join him. Riddle was incensed that someone would actually defy him in front of everyone, in front of his army, in front of his followers. He sent his magical snake, Nagini, to kill Neville. But Neville, being the brave and true Gryffindor that he is, was given the Sword of Gryffindor, and with that sword he severed the head of the monstrous magical snake. This act of defiance, this stroke of righteous anger, this blow to the very heart of the Death Eaters and their leader and all that they stood for, this became the rallying point. This was the turning of the tide as it were. The battle had turned, it was now the Death Eaters that were on the run. Yes, I showed everyone that I was not dead, like Riddle had claimed. That had the added benefit of showing everyone that Riddle was not as powerful as he had claimed. It showed everyone that Riddle could be wrong. And yes, I faced off against Riddle in what many have described as a fantastic duel. What I did though, was find a weakness as I fought against him and I exploited that weakness, which lead to his defeat because in his arrogance he did not believe that he could possibly lose."

After his long narration Harry simply shrugged and stepped back towards his seat. He was met with a standing ovation from all those who were present who felt honoured to hear the first hand account of how Harry had defeated his life long nemesis.

Daphne was standing off the stage to one side, having let Dudley sit in the back of the hall. Her eyes narrowed as she examined Harry closely. She could not detect any malice or subterfuge in the tale he had told. And she knew firsthand much of the story he had shared as she had witnessed much of what had happened that night since she was one of the few Slytherin students who had stayed behind to defend the castle during the battle. Briefly she wondered if she really knew Harry Potter, but she dismissed that thought as quickly as it came to her.

After the presentations to the students, the events moved outside to where there was a pavilion set up on the Hogwarts grounds, and more people had prepared speeches to give to the crowd. Several hundred people were easily in attendance, in addition to the students, and then there was still the ball that was planned for the end of the evening. Harry spoke briefly, as did Neville and Hermione. Ron was content to just bask in the glory of his being a part of the golden trio that had saved the day by their returning to the school five years previously. The conclusion of the ceremony was followed by a buffet meal. After the meal was finished people moved back inside for the ball which was being held in the Great Hall. The room seemed to have magically expanded so as to accommodate all those who were in attendance as well as students who were in their fourth year and higher.

At one point, during the ball, Dudley found himself sitting at a table off to the side by himself. He was too shy to consider asking any witches to dance, and he could tell that his cousin was too busy between conversations with many who were there and the various young witches pulling him out on to the dance floor so Harry didn't have time to sit with him.

As Dudley was seated by himself taking in everything that was happening around him, gazing at the floating candles and the occasional ghost that would fly through the air above the crowd, Daphne Greengrass noticed him, and decided to sit down and have a conversation with the only known muggle relative of the Boy Who Lived. Daphne was curious as to just what she might learn about the young man who had given her much to think about regarding the Lord Potter-Black.

Dudley was surprised that a beautiful witch like Daphne would even consider sitting with him. He knew that she was one of the people who had organised the event as they had met over lunch with Harry. He suspected that Harry might like her, based on how Harry would look at her from time to time and his cousin's awkwardness at times during the lunch meeting.

"So, Dudley," Daphne began with a smile, "what can you tell me about your cousin that I don't already know? Any great stories that you can tell me about when he was young?"

Dudley shifted uncomfortably in his seat for a moment. "Well, I don't really have anything to share about him from before he started at this here magical school. My parents thought he was a freak. They didn't treat him well. And I had not been the nicest cousin to him at times, or ever really. I was kind of a bully when we were younger, and sadly my parents even encouraged it. But let me tell you, Harry has grown into being quite an amazing young man." Dudley relayed to her that his his family had treated Harry poorly when he was growing up but he still had not given her any specifics.

"Despite all of that," continued Dudley, the excitement growing in his voice as the story went on, "Harry did save my life once. I think that was mentioned at that lunch we had. Well, that was during the summer, several years back. We were attacked by these floating evil ghost things, I think Harry said that they were demented or something, which was why they were after us even when they shouldn't have been. But, what kind of person saves his cousin who had picked on him for years?"

Dudley continued to boast about Harry, about what he knew about Harry and all that he had learned that Harry had done recently. Dudley had assumed that Daphne had come to talk to him about Harry to learn more about him because she was interested in him. As Dudley thought he could tell that Harry was interested in Daphne, he went on to talk about how he knew that Harry was trying to change traditions, to make things more equal for all people with magic. And he added that he knew that Harry had saved one of his best friends from a dangerous relationship.

The last bit of information was quite unsettling to Daphne. She had assumed that Dudley was referring to Neville and Astoria. Daphne stood up and walked out of the room. Dudley could tell that she was upset, and he shook his head with confusion. However, he smiled to himself, for having finally met Hermione, Dudley was happy that Harry had supported her during the time that she broke up with her previous boyfriend. Dudley had assumed that Harry would have ended up dating Hermione, but he had quickly learned from Harry that those two were more like brother and sister, and that they would never be comfortable with dating each other.

Daphne had gone over to another table where she was sitting with her sister and their cousin. Percy Weasley came by the table to say hello to Daphne and was introduced to Silene at that time. Percy smiled as he greeted the blonde witch. Daphne explained to her cousin that Percy worked at the ministry, and had being doing so since he had graduated from Hogwarts.

Silene looked up at the tall red headed man and returned his smile. Percy started to blush when the young witch smiled back at him.

"My lady," said Percy with a flourish, "would you care for a dance?"

Silene smiled even more broadly, "Why of course, my lord, I would love to join you for a dance."

Daphne and Astoria shook their heads as they watched the overly dramatic antics of the two, and Daphne wondered what harm could possibly come from the two having a little dance.

Silene was impressed that a young man who worked for the ministry would be showing any interest in her. Like many students, she had grown up in Slytherin house, completing her schooling after the war had ended. She saw the way many at the school treated her former house and house mates - the disdain and discrimination was rampant, barely being kept in check. Now, here was someone whom she knew was a Gryffindor, for everyone knew the Weasley family and that they all had been sorted into the house of the brave (or as known to Slytherins, the house of the foolish and arrogant), and he was paying attention to her. No, he was treating her like a lady; like the lady she would have been brought up to be if the war hadn't changed things so abruptly. While her family never supported the Death Eaters, many in wizarding society painted everything and everyone with very broad strokes, and she was getting used to being discriminated against simply because of what house she had been sorted into. She was ambitious, which was why she had been sorted there in the first place, but the fallout from the war had eroded much of her ambition. So Silene decided to allow herself to have some fun, even if it was only to be for one night, in the arms of a charming and handsome wizard.

Daphne's attention was drawn away from watching her cousin when she noticed that her best friend, Tracey, was dancing with Theodore Nott. She smiled to herself, hoping that this would prevent her parents from following through on the arranged marriage that they had discussed earlier in the spring.

* * *

**AN: Complaints in one of the reviews were that Daphne and Harry should be learning more about each other and not so antagonistic towards each other - particularly on the part of Daphne. They both have pride, and they both are prejudiced. It can take a long time for someone to recognise their own pride and prejudice and then change. That is why so little change seems to happen in society and why the book Pride and Prejudice is not just a few short chapters. And it is why our "heroes" aren't changing all of their views right away. **

**Plus, I am trying to follow a loose outline based on Jane Austen's work...and there is still a fair amount to cover...**


	7. Chapter 6

P&P6

* * *

**Summer 2003**

Harry Potter-Black had a busy schedule for his summer. He had a number of Wizengamot meetings to attend, plus there was all of the preparation for those meetings. He was actively working on supporting several bills that would be presented to the wizard governing body, including bills on elevating the status of multiple magical creatures and further attempts to remove any discrimination against werewolves, Veela and others who were considered either unfit for society or supposedly less than human because of their heritage.

Harry also was having meetings with the minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, in addition to Gawain Robards, the head of the DMLE, as they were discussing options for dealing with any remaining Death Eaters that may still be at large, and coming up with a plan to deal with potential threats or other future dark lords. Harry had initially balked at being involved in those discussions, as he had not had any formal training as an Auror or working with the DMLE, but the minister assured him that his experience alone in dealing with Riddle and his followers was enough that they at least wanted his input.

As June was coming to an end, Harry had spoken to Neville about having another large birthday party for him, however, Neville refused. He didn't see the need for a lavish ball or a giant party, preferring to spend the time with a small gathering of friends.

With his regular meetings with the minister and others at the Ministry of Magic, Harry routinely would either have meetings with Daphne Greengrass or go out of his way to at least say hello to her and have a brief chat. The fact that he was continuing to show up at her office or where she was working was becoming increasingly irritating to her. At one of the chance encounters, Daphne had been frustrated enough that she finally spoke to him about her schedule.

"As the assistant to the minister I am quite busy with the arrangements I have to make for various ministry functions, Potter," she said. "This is my schedule, please remember it, and remember that I am too busy to be bothered and distracted by unnecessary interruptions." She abruptly turned and walked away from him.

To her continued frustration, Harry continued to show up, but now it was with an even greater frequency. Daphne was becoming increasingly angry as she was sure that he was doing this deliberately so as to either mess her up or distract her from her work so as to get her in trouble.

Harry Potter-Black knew that he was never particularly skilled in the relationships with women part of his life. His brief attempts at dating when he was in school had not gone well. Cho Chang was too emotionally distraught over her one true love, Cedric Diggory. Ginevra Weasley had been nothing more than a fan girl, who when they were in school had repeatedly tried to get Harry's attention by making him jealous by dating other boys, and ultimately it became clear to Harry that her interest was in the Boy Who Lived and his fame and not in the real person of Harry James Potter. Hermione had been his best friend since they were first year students, and he only briefly considered her as a possible girlfriend in their fourth year, and had been grateful ever since that they never did allow any sort of romance get in the way of their close friendship.

And then he met Daphne Greengrass. Daphne, the cold and stoic former Slytherin whom he had to work with while planning the memorial and the celebration during the past year. Her beauty was not lost on him, and he knew she was quite intelligent and the fact that she stayed at Hogwarts to help defend the school at the Battle of Hogwarts was not lost on him either.

* * *

P&P 6.2

* * *

Neville Longbottom was having lunch with Harry one day after they had spent the morning in a meeting with Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"You know, Harry, you really do seem to be going out of your way to run into Greengrass," said Neville.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the comment. "I really don't think I am," he argued slightly.

"Oh, come off it, Harry," replied Neville with a grin. "We've been great friends for over five years since the end of the war; we attended school together and lived in the same dorm for six years before that. I think I know you about as well as anyone can, well, except for maybe Hermione."

Harry still had a puzzled look on his face.

Neville shook his head as he continued, "Clearly you like the witch. You go out of your way just to say 'hi', or make some excuse of something you need to report to her or ask of her, even if there is no upcoming event that directly involves you."

"I haven't been doing any such thing," protested Harry. "She's Kingsley's assistant, we have meetings with the minister routinely. She's just someone I need to keep in touch with because of that."

Neville laugh at his friend. "Merlin's beard, Harry, it's so obvious that even I noticed what you have been up to. And no, it's not just seeing her about meetings you have with Shacklebolt."

Harry shifted uneasily in his seat. Then he sighed heavily before he responded to Neville. "Well, she is definitely pleasant on the eyes," he said with a smile. Then the smile vanished as he continued, "However, I do think that she may have some issues. Her mood is often sour. She continues to have the same air of superiority that she gave off during our years at school. One would think that after being away from Hogwarts for some time that house rivalries would have fallen by the wayside."

Neville smirked, "Not apparently if you're from Slytherin house. At least, for most of them, they still tend to associate primarily with other Slytherins."

Harry nodded in agreement, "Then maybe I need to make it clear to her that I almost ended up a Slytherin."

Neville smiled at his friend, as he had heard that particular story before.

"So, Neville, my friend," Harry began as he was changing the subject. "I have realised that I am woefully unaware of many of the traditions of the old families. You were brought up within the wizarding world, and even if your family has been decidedly light leaning for many generations, you at least have an understanding of how things are done."

Neville nodded in agreement with Harry's words. "And your point about this is?"

"As you are quite well aware, I had no real education in the ways of the magical world," said Harry as he leaned back in his chair. "Probably could have made a better impression on Malfoy and others when we started at Hogwarts as firsties if I had even the slightest clue about things like traditions and appropriate behaviour among witches and wizards. But as I am a lord, of not just one, but two houses at that, I really need to better understand the ways of the magical world. I've been picking up some things as I've been working with the ministry, and everything your gran has us learn when she sent us off to Europe, but I am sure that there are things that I need to know and better understand so that I don't offend people. Considering how much of a microscope this society keeps me under…"

Neville furrowed his brow. "Microscope?" he asked.

"A muggle tool, kind of like omnioculars for looking at things too small to see with the naked eye," explained Harry. "Muggle scientists use microscopes for all sorts of things."

"Um, yeah, sure," said Neville, silently wondering just what muggles needed to look at that was so small, "I'd be glad to help out."

"And besides, it might help me better with witches, considering my pitiful past experience with them," said Harry.

Neville raised an eyebrow, "Or help you with one witch in particular."

Harry's cheeks started to turn a little red. "Well, as I said, I've not had much luck with dating. And I know that the magical world has different views about dating and marriage. I've heard talk about betrothal contracts and such."

"Are you looking to make a betrothal contract with Greengrass?" asked Neville, the surprise evident in his voice.

"What? No! I just figure the more I know about the mindset of witches and wizards when it comes to these sorts of things, the less likely I will make a fool out of myself," explained Harry.

"Oh, I'm sure you can still make a fool out of yourself," Neville laughed. "But seriously, that makes sense. I'm sure my gran has more information about that, it's probably hidden among all the information she gave us when we were on our learning tour throughout Europe on how to be a proper young lord."

"Well, I think we both kind of ignored _that_ part of the how to be a young lord, considering the pictures they had of us going to the clubs and such some times," said Harry with a laugh.

* * *

P&P 6.3

* * *

Daphne Greengrass was feeling good about several things. Her best friend, Tracey Davis, was now often meeting up with Theodore Nott. Most importantly was that Tracey was happy and Nott actually seemed nicer now than he ever appeared when they were in school. Second to that was that Daphne didn't have to worry about her parents trying to continue to arrange a marriage between her and Nott as even they had noticed the budding relationship between him and her best friend. Also, her cousin, Silene, had started dating Percy Weasley. She had enjoyed the brief encounters she had with Percy on the occasions at the ministry when their paths would cross. She smiled to herself at the thought of her being happy that her cousin was dating a Weasley, but this Weasley was nothing like the one who was in her year in school, and he gave her a fresh perspective on Lord Potter-Black. But most important to Daphne, was that now that it was June, the fifth anniversary celebration of the end of the war was well behind her, and she was no longer required to have meetings with Lord Potter-Black.

Daphne was taking a break from her work, and getting an afternoon tea. She was not too surprised when Percy joined her.

"I need to thank you, Daphne," he said as he sat down across from her. "Introducing me to your cousin was absolutely wonderful. I don't think I could be happier, she is one of the kindest and most fun witches I have ever met. Family is important to her, just as family has always been important to me. We may have come form different houses at Hogwarts, but deep down we care about the same things."

"I'm happy for you both," replied Daphne with a smile.

"It's a shame that some people don't value family," he continued.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, not sure which way Percy was heading with this comment.

"That darned Lord Potter-Black," explained Percy. "He must not understand family at all. He turned his back on his family."

Daphne was surprised by his comment. "But his cousin, Buddy, Dubby, oh, I think it was Dudley, yes, that was it. Well his cousin Dudley came to the celebration."

"Interesting that it was only his cousin, don't you agree?" wondered Percy. "After all, he made amends with his cousin and invited him to a magical celebration, but he couldn't be bothered to establish relations with his aunt and uncle."

"You seem to know an awful lot about Harry Potter-Black," observed Daphne.

"Of course," said Percy, "you see, he was treated like part of my family while he was at school. He may have been ungrateful and treated my family horribly in response, but we cared for him nonetheless. My parents were willing to take him as one of their own. Ron was his first friend, and he turned his back on Ron."

Daphne was still not sure exactly where he was going with this.

"Harry was raised by his muggle aunt and uncle," Percy said as he started to explain further. "But he was ungrateful about all that they did for him. You would think that the way he just ignored them completely since the end of the war and he became an adult that they would have abused him. But did you ever see any evidence of Harry Potter having been abused? No, of course not."

"I had never really thought about it," said Daphne, not wanting to bring up what she had gathered from her conversations with Dudley and the clear animosity that he implied his parents had towards his cousin. "But he did invite his cousin to the celebration, as we all know."

Percy nodded slightly, "But that in itself is surprising, considering as from what I hear, Harry nearly got him killed. Supposedly by dementors that attacked them."

This did go along with what Harry and Dudley had previously told her. "I heard that was Potter's excuse for being charged with underage use of magic and breaking the statutes of secrecy by casting a spell in front of a muggle," said Daphne who had heard the story from both Harry and Dudley.

"Potter always has an excuse," acknowledged Percy, "and he often had Dumbledore save him from any consequences of the problems which he caused. Do you know that he actually threatened his own family, on multiple times? In fact, one summer, he nearly killed his aunt, or actually it was his uncle's sister. The Accidental Reversal of Magic squad had to be called in to take care of the situation. And furthermore, he claimed that his family refused to feed him, that they never gave him a proper room. But, yes, he may have been skinny, but he wasn't starving. And I've heard about the house that he lived in, it is in a fairly nice muggle neighbourhood. Of course they would have had plenty of room for him. In fact, I know for certain that four of my brothers and my father all assisted with him leaving his aunt and uncle's house before Harry and Ron were supposed to start their seventh year. They helped him escape as the Death Eaters were about to attack his family's home. Merlin, my brother George lost an ear, and Alistor Moody was killed that night."

Daphne wasn't sure how much of the story she could believe, but everything that Percy had been telling her had seemed accurate enough.

"And my brother, George, losing his ear wasn't the only thing that he did to my family," said Percy. "Almost every summer my family took him in, even if it was for just a few weeks. And how did he repay us? He broke my little sister's heart when he became too famous after the end of the war and dumped her. Then he was too famous to be bothered to be friends with his best mate, and even turned against him when his girlfriend decided that she was too famous to be tied down to him. All because they didn't think Ron did enough during the war. I don't know what they were on about, as Ron was right there beside them when they ran away in the summer of 1997, and he was right there with them for the Battle of Hogwarts. My family gave him a home whenever he needed one. My mother fed him every summer. She gave him a jumper for Christmas every winter, just like he was a part of the family. Then, at the end of their fifth year at school, right before it became clear that Volde…that He Who Must Not Be Named had returned, he dragged Ron and Ginny with him on a fool's errand to the Ministry and nearly got them both killed. For what? All for some foolish prophecy, that Dumbledore already knew all about."

He took a deep breath after his short tirade. "Then, Potter, well, he becomes even more famous, and he becomes a member of the Wizengamot and a lord. But he doesn't want to follow our traditions. He continues to introduce new legislation about traditions, traditions that he never took the time to learn about when he was growing up. So, excuse me if I am not a fan of Lord Potter-Black. I don't think people really know him like my family knows him."

Daphne simply nodded and smiled. "He definitely sounds like an ungrateful individual."

"I don't understand why no one else sees him that way," said Percy. "He is viewed as this wonderful and caring saviour of our magical society, a society he never really grew up in, and doesn't act like he really cares."

Daphne continued to nod as she listened to Percy rail against the supposed chosen one.

"Oh," said Percy as Daphne was about to leave, "Silene and I are planning on attending a Quidditch match this weekend, Chudley Cannons versus the Kenmare Kestrels. I am more of a Kestrels fan myself, although I usually cheer for the Wigtown Wanderers. Not much of a Puddlemere fan. Everyone seems to like them because they win so much."

"That match is this weekend, isn't it? But no, I already have plans, so I cannot join you all for the match," said Daphne. "Besides, I am more of a fan of the Falmouth Falcons."

* * *

P&P 6.4

* * *

Harry continued to have work at the ministry and he had several meetings with Daphne. He always tried to speak with her, and as Daphne felt that she had to be polite as she had to keep up appearances at the ministry, she always responded pleasantly. Once again, she was involved with planning a major activity as the ministry had decided that more grand social activities would be beneficial to bringing people in the magical society together and these events would help to continue the healing after the war, a summer ball was scheduled for mid August.

While it was not directly related to the war, the ministry publicised that many young leaders of the magical world would be present, including Lord Longbottom and Lord Potter-Black. Daphne was in charge of promoting the event, which would raise money as a benefit for St. Mungo's Hospital, and as such she continued to have meetings with Harry, much to her frustration.

* * *

P&P.6.5

The Ministry Ball

* * *

The evening of the grand ball had arrived, and it was well attended by the elite of the magical world, as well as by many who were of the more middle class. It was billed as a night of fun and excitement, and looked upon by many as a night to be seen and to see who would attend.

Daphne was standing with her best friend, Tracey and with her sister Astoria. They were watching as people arrived at the ball. Astoria gave a slight gasp as she saw Neville Longbottom walk in to the hall with a tall and striking witch with long wavy dark hair.

Daphne noted her sister's reaction. "What's the matter, Tori?"

"It's just seeing Neville with another witch, it just surprised me," said Astoria, the sadness evident in her tone.

Daphne lightly placed her hand on her sister's elbow. "Don't worry about her, that's his cousin. Cassandra, as I recall, I believe she grew up in France."

Tracey looked at her friend and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, look who knows so much. Keeping tabs on the young Lord Longbottom, are we?"

Daphne scoffed at her friend. "No, I just happened to have met her over the summer. She called out to Potter when we were leaving the ministry one day."

Tracey turned back to look at Neville and his cousin. "Well, she is quite the beautiful witch though. All the boys will probably be falling all over themselves to be with her. Even if she is related to Longbottom."

Daphne shook her head at her friends words. "Whatever, Tracey."

As the dancing had begun, the three witches continued to observe the people who had arrived. Tracey elbowed her friend in the side and pointed to one couple who had just walked out onto the dance floor. "Look who the mysterious and beautiful cousin of Longbottom has snagged for a dance."

Daphne looked up and saw Cassandra and Harry Potter start to dance among the many couples who made their way onto the dance floor. Daphne shrugged her shoulders, and muttered a comment to Tracey about heading over to get something to drink on the other side of the ballroom.

As she made her way towards the bar, Theodore Nott had cornered Daphne and asked her for a dance. Daphne didn't feel she had a particular reason to decline the dance, so she reluctantly accompanied him out onto the floor. Their dance proved to be awkward, due to his stepping on her feet and nearly tripping several times, and also due to his awkward conversation skills. Daphne wondered how he had managed to graduate from Hogwarts at all, or more pointedly, how he had managed to be sorted into Slytherin House. It was clear that he was still hoping that he might somehow end up betrothed to the blonde in his arms, as he stated as they were finishing the dance. "Perhaps someday we will be practicing this very dance for our wedding night."

Daphne took a deep breath and then made her opinion on that matter very clear. "Theodore, I doubt there will ever come a day where I would be practicing any dance for a wedding with you. We don't really like each other. We have nothing in common, and we would both be miserable, of that I can assure you." Noticing the dejected look on his face, Daphne tried another course of action. "Look, Theo, you have made it clear over the past few months that you are trying to distance yourself from your father's and grandfather's legacy. This marriage contract proposal, it is not from you, it is from them. Or at least it is to appease them. You don't really want it. I sure as bloody hell don't want it." Theo still looked upset by her words, so she tried to offer some comfort as she added, "You need to make a statement for yourself, for your family as you will be the face of the Nott family going forward. Now, while I am not interested in spending any more time with you than I absolutely have to, there are, however, and I am certain of this, other witches who find you both charming and attractive. It would probably be better if you were to actively pursue someone who might actually be interested in you."

Theodore tilted his head slightly, his mouth open in surprise in response to her blunt reply. He stuttered as he tried to ask her who she was referring to by her proclamation.

"Try asking a young witch who actually smiles when you walk up to her," was the only clue she would give him, while mentally she wondered how dense he could be as he had already been spending a fair amount of time with Tracey.

As she left him at the edge of the dance floor, she watched as he walked up to Tracey Davis. Tracey was smiling as he walked up to her, and Daphne smirked as she realised there might be hope for the young man after all. Her smile faded, however, as she was startled by someone gently touching her elbow.

"Would this lovely young witch care to dance?" came the voice from the wizard who had touched her arm. She turned and initially was unsure of what to say as she stared into the emerald green eyes of Lord Potter-Black.

"Speechless? That is so unlike you, Miss Greengrass," stated Harry.

Daphne quickly looked around and did not see any signs of Cassandra. Again she found herself not having any real reason not to accept the dance, and knowing that people at the ball would be keeping their eyes on Lord Potter-Black, she rolled her eyes as she accepted his hand and took to the dance floor. "Already lost your first partner, Potter? Did you step on her toes too much?"

Harry seemed puzzled by her statement. "I'm fairly certain I didn't step on anyone's toes tonight. I have learned more than a few things since the Yule Ball during the Triwizard Tournament."

Daphne was surprised by his grace and skill as they danced several dances, silently wishing that some wizard would have had the daring to try an cut in, but seeing as she was dancing with the Boy Who Lived, she doubted that any young wizard would dare try such a thing.

Harry tried to have a conversation with her as they danced. "I noticed you dancing with Theodore Nott. You seemed a little, shall we say, distressed," he observed.

"Nothing that you need to worry yourself about," she said, dismissing his concerns.

"You dance quite well," said Harry. "In fact, I must say that you make dancing easy."

"You try to flatter me, Lord Potter-Black," she said, trying to avoid any real conversation.

As the dance continued he commented that she seemed to be tense. "This is supposed to be a happy occasion, a time for fun and relaxation."

Daphne bit her lip, stopping herself from telling him just exactly how she felt, and quickly came up with a reply to deflect his concern. "When one is dancing with Witch Weekly's most eligible wizard for the past three years, one may be a little self conscious."

"I hate that title, as well as any of the countless others which I have received over the years," he stated.

The music was ending and after three successive dances, Daphne felt that she should be able to leave the dance floor without offending the young lord. Harry offered to get her some refreshment, but Daphne quickly declined. Harry then turned and made his way to the bar to get a butter beer, while Daphne made her way to find her friends.

Daphne met up with Astoria and their cousin Silene. Astoria appeared to be miserable as she watched Lord Longbottom dancing with another witch. Silene just seemed to be miserable.

"Now, ladies, what seems to be the problem?" she asked, taking their attention away from gazing at the various couples on the dance floor. "It's not like either of you two have had to suffer through three dances with Lord Potter-Black."

"Neville is the problem," stated Silene.

Astoria was about to protest when she added, "Well, to be clear, the fact that Neville is not dancing with Astoria is her problem."

Astoria narrowed her eyes at her cousin, then turned back to Daphne, "Percy Weasley refusing to come to the ball is _her_ problem."

"There are plenty of other young wizards at the ball," pointed out Daphne.

"Like Lord Potter-Black," observed Silene with a smirk.

"No need to be spiteful," snapped Daphne. "I was just being polite when he asked me to dance."

"And you didn't enjoy dancing with him?" asked her sister. "He seemed to enjoy dancing with you as much as he did with that other witch. And it sure appeared that all the other young witches present were wanting to cast all manner of dark spells at you as you kept him on the dance floor for three dances. I don't think he danced that long with Longbottom's cousin."

"Three? I didn't think we are out there that long," said Daphne, hoping to end this particular conversation. Trying to change the subject, she asked Silene why Percy wasn't at the ball.

"I don't know why," she said with a slight pout, "he just stated that he couldn't be bothered."

The three continued to discuss who was dancing with who, when Tracey came and joined them.

"So, it appears that our Tracey has at least been enjoying herself this evening," stated Daphne as Tracey came and stood between her and Astoria.

Astoria turned to her cousin, "These two will probably want to gossip about Theodore without our being here, why don't we go find something to drink." Astoria and Silene then left the two best friends to talk by themselves. "Besides," added Astoria so her sister and Tracey could hear, "I'm sure I will get all of the juicy details out of Daphne later."

As Daphne was about to ask Tracey how her dancing with Theo had gone, Hermione Granger stepped up next to them.

"Hello, Davis, Greengrass," she said as she stood across from the two witches.

Tracey and Daphne nodded in reply. Hermione started their conversation as she turned to speak with Tracey. "So, you seemed quite entranced with Heir Nott out there. I didn't know the two of you were together."

Tracey laughed. "Oh, it's not like that, Hermione," she said, turning the conversation to be more familiar and less formal. "It's not like I talk about my personal life when we're at work."

The three witches had actually been working together on the fund-raising part of the ball, as Daphne had been organising the ball, Hermione had been brought in as a liaison between the ministry and the hospital, and Tracey, as one of the young healers, had volunteered to represent the magical hospital and their plans for how they would plan to use any funds which they might receive from the event.

Hermione continued to pressure Tracey about details on her and Theodore's relationship.

She blushed slightly, as she said, "I think it would be going along much better if he actually was more interested in me than he is in Daphne."

Daphne was frowning, "I tried to make it more than clear to him tonight to not waste any of his energy on pursuing me."

Hermione noted that Daphne had been scowling throughout their conversation. "What's got you all upset?" she asked. "You seem irritated about something."

"Well, Percy Weasley did not come to the ball tonight," she said at one point. "And _that_ has upset my cousin."

Hermione nodded and then added, "Well, I'm not terribly surprised that Percy didn't come. After all, he often avoids seeing Harry. Those two never really got along, and as there was a lot of publicity about Harry and Neville coming tonight, I'm sure that played a part in his decision to stay away."

"Apparently none of the Weasleys seem to get along with Potter anymore," quipped Daphne.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at the comment. "Well, it is true that he and Ginny broke up, but for the most part they have been civil since that ended, I think it was shortly after the war ended. Then there's Ron. Well, he's Ron, and I don't know if there is anything more one can say about him than that."

Hermione then added, "You seemed to be enjoying your time with Harry."

Daphne scoffed at the comment. "I was merely being polite." With that she turned and walked off, commenting about needing to get something to drink.

Tracey leaned over towards Hermione, "I think she protests too much about Lord Potter-Black. Although, something about him does seem to set her off quite easily."

Hermione smiled, "He has had that effect on many people in the past. Usually women. He never really has learned how to deal with women."

"So it would seem," added Tracey. Then after a pause, she added, "But, you and Potter, you never dated? Never got together?"

Hermione blushed slightly at the question. "Um, no, no we haven't."

Tracey raised her eyebrows, "No you haven't because you didn't want to or he didn't want to?"

Hermione sighed as she heard the question that she knew many had always wanted to ask her but were usually too polite to broach. "Neither," she said slowly and carefully, "is probably the best answer."

Tracey remained silent and just stared at Hermione, awaiting a more complete explanation.

"We first became friends in our first year, after he and Ron saved me from the troll that Quirrel let into the school," said Hermione.

"So, Quirrel really was behind the troll! I had a bet with Daphne years ago about who let the troll into the school. So, you became friends then, and you spent the rest of your years at Hogwarts together. The three of you were always together."

"Well, Ron was Harry's first friend. Like ever. And the three of us seemed to get into new adventures without trying to, but that is another story altogether," said Hermione. "Besides, no one when we were first years was looking at relationships with others."

"Hah!" exclaimed Tracey. "Says the muggle born who wasn't brought up in pure-blood wizarding society! Certain families learn to seek out who they want as their life partner at an early age. Romance rarely has anything to do with it."

Hermione rolled her eyes at that statement. "I have at least been learning about the traditions of the wizarding world, so give me a little credit. But as for me and Harry, well, I think maybe in our fourth year we might have had a chance at dating. But Harry was too afraid to ask me to the ball, and I ended up going with Krum, and he had a miserable time with Padma. Or was it Parvati? Anyway, after that time we never really considered each other as someone to date. We've always been close, as friends. Oh, we've had our ups and downs, our disagreements, but we do care deeply for each other, at least as much as any brother and sister do."

"You two are very lucky, then," said Tracey. "It's quite unusual to have such a close relationship like the two of you have. I'm sure it has kept many a young witch from thinking that they would ever have a chance with him."

Hermione raised her eye at her, "Oh?"

"The whole school assumed you were either dating or would eventually end up together," said Tracey.

"Well, that may explain some things about Harry," said Hermione.

"What things?"

"He never really was very good in his relations with girls, er, women," said Hermione. "He is always a little awkward at best, and was never sure how to approach them. Well, other than me, but I was his know-it-all friend who kept harping on him to do his assignments for his class and listen to his teachers and made sure he didn't go on his adventures alone."

Tracey tilted her head and then laughed slightly. Hermione gave her a quizzical look. Tracy smiled as she explained her thoughts, "If the first girl Harry ever really got to know was you, and if he has compared all witches to you, that might explain some things. Many things. He expects witches to all be as smart as you, as persistent as you, and as you were never one to bottle up your thoughts he probably thinks we will all tell him anything and everything we're thinking about."

Their conversation was interrupted as Theodore Nott came up and asked Tracey for a dance. As the two made their way onto the dance floor Hermione sighed as she said to herself, "At least someone is having fun tonight at the ball."

Daphne had come up from behind her, and had heard her comment. "I don't think it's just those two, Granger."

Hermione turned around and smiled at her friend. "Oh, Daphne, I didn't hear you walk up. But who else are you referring to?"

Daphne didn't say anything, she simply pointed out to the dance floor at Harry Potter dancing with Cassandra Woodson once again. Hermione bit her lip before making a comment about Daphne possibly being jealous.

Then she noticed Neville, sitting alone near the bar. "Well, someone sure does not look like they're enjoying themselves tonight."

Daphne followed where Hermione's eyes were looking and saw Lord Longbottom sitting alone. "Serves him right, the arrogant sod."


	8. Chapter 7

P&P7

* * *

**August 2003**

The week after the ball, Olivia Greengrass was preparing dinner for her small family. She was only slightly sad that she had no news of her daughters having any serious relationships or pending betrothals. She was, however, happy for Tracey Davis, her daughter's best friend. The young witch was so close with the Greengrass family she was almost considered an extra daughter.

Tracey Davis and Theodore Nott had been dating officially since the ball, which was the culmination of their spending more and more time together since the time he met up with the Greengrass family at the St. James's Park. Olivia realised that Theodore Nott would probably become engaged to Tracey Davis sometime soon, and that while the Davis family was not considered as well off as the Greengrass family, considering most people in the magical world were not aware of any financial issues with the Greengrass Import business, they were respected among most members of the magical society, that is beyond the Death Eaters and pure-blood supremacists who looked down on them for marrying half-bloods on multiple occasions.

Olivia was sad that Astoria was no longer dating Neville. Her daughter, Daphne, had blamed the entire fallout between those two on Harry Potter. Secretly, she hoped that Daphne might be able to get together with Harry Potter-Black, and was excited when she had heard stories of the two dancing together at the ball. However she realised that was unlikely to happen due to how much Daphne seemed to really dislike the young lord. Olivia was politically savvy, and she also understood that a witch's role within society was often considered as just a support for the husband. Marriages were often brokered between pure-blood families for business reasons, for prestige, or simply to just continue family alliances or establish new ones.

Looking out for her family, she had suggested that her husband work on establishing new allies and associates within the Wizengamot, and as such, they were hosting a tea for several young lords as well as some experienced members of the Wizengamot who would have been considered grey in the past, as they were neither pure-blooded traditionalists or light sided followers of the late Albus Dumbledore. To that end, they had invited Lord Potter-Black, Lord Terry Boot, and, despite his estrangement from their daughter, the young Lord Longbottom. They had also invited Lord Macmillan, whose grandson happened to be a classmate of the other three, as well as Demetrios Fronsac, great grandson of the former Headmaster of Hogwarts, Basil Fronsac. Tiberius Ogden and Roland Quintin had also been invited to the get together.

Tiberius Ogden had previously threatened to resign from the Wizengamot when Cornelius Fudge had appointed Umbridge as the High Inquisitor at Hogwarts. He had always been outspoken, both against the machinations of the Pure-Blood supremacists as well as the pandering of Albus Dumbledore and the blind following he had from those who were self declared as the light faction. Historically, he was a centrist, and both sides did not want to antagonise the current head of the Ogden Fire Whiskey company.

As the men, young and old, gathered around the enlarged table in the Greengrass' fancy dining hall, Tiberius spoke up first. "Cyrus, I am curious as to the reasoning for this odd collection of Wizengamot members which you have brought here today. You were always quite the Slytherin, cunning and ambitious, and I am not in the mood for playing games. So, speak plainly, good man, and tell us, just why we have gathered here some young whippersnappers who spent too much time lapping at Dumbledore's feet, and some wizards who are almost too old to make a difference on their own. Merlin, my own attempted resignation did nothing to change the ways of that fool Fudge."

All the men now had their eyes on Cyrus Greengrass. "Always honest and blunt to a fault, Tiberius. Which is why I needed you here today. So, I will cut to the chase, as they say. We have had too much disarray in our world for too long. Many of the Pure-bloods wasted any credibility and influence they had by following a crazed half-blood. The side of the dark, or as they see themselves, the traditionalists, burned many bridges as far as having any real say in matters. But there are still many left, many who have a little power, enough to be a distraction to the plans of those on the light side. And yet, the light side lost respect from many, even those, like us, who would be considered in the middle, or grey if you would; because of their devotion to the almighty and powerful Albus Dumbledore, who, since his passing, has been outed as having plenty of skeletons in his closet."

"This all just old news," complained Demetrios Fronsac. "The papers covered his fall from grace not long after his death. Even Potter here didn't have much to say after the war was over about how Albus was a really great man. So, I wonder where the young lord's allegiances truly lie." He turned his narrowed eyes at Lord Potter-Black before he continued. "The war ended over fiver years ago. Some feel that we got stuck with Shacklebolt as minister because he was the least difficult person to deal with. He is of pure-blood descent, yet he was allied with Dumbledore. It has been pointed out that he had an exemplary record with the DMLE. He is kind and fair but doesn't push too many buttons. But we're not going anywhere forward with him as our minister."

"We can make a difference," proclaimed Cyrus, "if we are able to present a unified front, a clear and concise agenda for magical Britain."

"Ambitious," acknowledged Lord Macmillan. "You have a grandiose idea that somehow we can come together. If it would be so easy, then why have we not established an alliance together in the past?"

Roland Quintin looked around the room, gazing briefly at all who were present before he interjected his own thoughts. "We have an assortment of Wizengamot members here," he said simply, "some young, some old. We have people from different walks of life. Young Longbottom here may be offending generations of ancestors if he doesn't fall in line with the light side like his father, and his grandfather and countless others before him had done. The Boot family has never had a major voice in the Wizengamot, but nevertheless they have been well respected across many lines. Ogden comes from a long line of businessmen, not too different from my own family; while Fronsac has familial connections with Hogwarts, and Macmillan has been a longtime Lord on the Wizengamot. So, with our varied backgrounds, it makes me wonder why, and for what purpose. All in all, it makes me question the logic in bringing us together."

Cyrus paused for a minute before responding. "It is those various differences that, if we were to make an alliance, would make us a force to be reckoned with. We all have our own small connections and families and individuals whom we have influence over. But I foresee this as potentially being the start of something different. If the rest of the Wizengamot sees a group with varied backgrounds come together and agree on things, then that will cause them pause and to listen to us. Once we get them to listen, our success should be in hand."

Tiberius Ogden spoke up again after emitting a groan. "You, sir, are seeming to avoid the whole point of this. Why is Longbottom here? This was already asked, or questioned. And why is the Boy Who Lived here? It seems as if your plan is to make a coalition of grey families, which I would support. We have had too much polarisation between the light and the dark for centuries. So, I ask again, why these two? Anyone who knows anything about Potter and Longbottom knows they are Light families. Have been for centuries."

All eyes had now turned to Harry as they were wondering just how he would react.

Harry took a deep breath and began to speak. "First of all, I am not Albus Dumbledore's legacy, I am not and never was _his_ boy, and I have no intention of ever playing apologist for the man. And no, not all of his motives were benign or good, if one does not look at things from his personal and warped perspective. The future of the wizarding world was not dependent on him, despite his own thoughts on the matter when he was running Hogwarts, serving as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the ICW. But our future is, however, dependent on witches and wizards working together. All of them, and not just the pure-bloods. The muggle-born and the half-bloods have been relegated to second class citizens. Why? Is their magic inferior? No, there is too much proof against that. The pure-bloods are afraid. They are afraid of losing their society, their ways, their traditions. They see the muggle-born as usurpers, as people trying to do away with the things of the magical world and replace them with things from muggle society. But it is because of their own fear, that they are most at risk for losing what they are so desperately trying to cling to, and that is their heritage, their ways of life."

The men were now all paying rapt attention to Harry.

Harry continued. "As I see it, the real reason why the pure-bloods are opposed to the muggle-born is that they don't want to have muggle ways forced upon them and they don't want to change their traditions. But I ask you all, why do muggle-born witches and wizards come across as wanting to change things?" Harry did not wait for anyone to answer. "I'll tell you why, it is because the muggle-born know basically _nothing_ about magical society before they start at Hogwarts. Oh, usually a professor will introduce them to the school and to the magical world with a _one day_ trip to Diagon Alley. And we all know that there is no way that is enough time to really understand the magical world. You all didn't learn the traditions of the magical world in one day, you grew up being taught them long before you attended Hogwarts. Are there courses to teach the muggle-born about our world? No, because the pure-bloods refused to have them. Are there courses to really teach magicals about the muggle world? No, the farce of a class on muggle studies is over a hundred years out of date. So, if this magical world is to survive, and avoid the perils of another war and another dark lord, the entire society must see the need for a compromise and to be properly educated about what we need to survive."

"So, what you're actually saying," said Lord Macmillan as he tried to grasp the ideas being out forth, "is that we teach people about our differences, help them understand, then we might get the pure-bloods to feel less threatened, and possibly even more accepting of the muggle-born, and allow the muggle-born to be more a part of our society, and not feel the driving need to change everything to how they think it should be?"

"Precisely," answered Cyrus on behalf of Harry.

Harry gave a slight nod to Cyrus in appreciation of his comment.

"How do we go about creating this new alliance?" asked Quintin.

Neville finally spoke up, "We don't."

The five older wizards turned and stared at the young lord.

"Of course Longbottom opposes all of this," sneered Ogden.

Before they could say anything further, Neville raised a hand to hold off any comments and he ignored Ogden's lone proclamation. "Now, just think about it. If we go about this right, we start with different individuals promoting the issues we want to pass. If we see certain groups are opposing an idea because one specific individual is supporting it, then we don't have that one individual support it. We divide our influence. When the time comes, we can make any alliance that is formed clear, but if you want to be Slytherin about it, we don't show our hand, or our immediate plans. We make slow and steady progress. That way we will not be opposed, and perhaps more importantly, the whole idea may take better hold among both factions."

Terry Boot finally spoke up, "You know, Neville, that's a brilliant idea."

Cyrus Greengrass smiled at the young wizard. "I must say, Longbottom, you do have an interesting take on the situation. And I might add that I like it."

"But back to the point of educating the muggle-born about magical society and the pure-bloods about the muggle world, just how to you expect us to go about that?" wondered Ogden.

"We do it subtly," stated Harry. "We teach people about the traditions and the history of magic. No, not by a boring lecture such as was held by Binns."

The group chuckled at recalling how pathetic History of Magic classes were when they were taught by a ghost who was fixated on the goblin rebellions.

"I have several properties, properties that are not being used, but were once manor homes for several different prominent magical families," continued Harry. "I, or we, can set them up as museums, a place to tour, to learn about how the families came to the power they had, why they had the homes they had, what they did there. No, we don't have to discuss muggle hunting, but if it is set up to show how different traditional celebrations were held, and give a history of how the alliances of old were settled, and people actually learned and understood that many of the families that are opposed to each other now may have been allies hundreds of years ago, that might cause people to at least to reconsider some of their positions."

Lord Macmillan was nodding in response to what Harry had said. "I can see that being helpful. But how would you set that all up?"

"I have my various public responsibilities as the Lord Potter-Black," explained Harry. "I can assign people to work on creating the museum approach and the history, and it will all just be a part of my working towards the betterment of society. Although, it may go over better if I was not actually associated with the entire project."

Neville shook his head and stifled a laugh in response to Harry's comment.

Olivia Greengrass opened the door to the room where the men were meeting. She was carrying a tea set. Once she set it down on the table, house elves brought in some biscuits. Lord Greengrass suggested that they take time for a break, to enjoy the refreshments and perhaps to stretch their legs. Harry and Neville walked over towards a patio. Neville excused himself to find a bathroom as Harry looked out over the gardens.

Olivia had cornered her eldest daughter. "Now, young lady, Lord Potter-Black seems to be enjoying the view of the gardens. It would be most proper if you were to offer to show him around."

Daphne glared at her mother. "Must I? He is such a snob. No, he isn't into the pure-blood supremacy, that's not what I meant," she said as she noticed the look on her mother's face that was questioning her. "He thinks he is better than everyone, he was the hero, time and again. He thinks that he is the one who will single handedly fix our society. A society he didn't even grow up in!"

Olivia narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "Through no fault of his own, young lady! Now, mind your tongue, and ignore anything and everything you hold against that young man and do what it is expected of the oldest daughter of Lord Greengrass. Prove that you know how to be a gracious hostess. Swallow your pride and just do it."

Daphne stopped herself from snapping back at her mother. "Very well, I'll do it, but I don't have to like it." She composed herself and put her mask of lack of emotion on as she made her way over towards the young lord.

Her mother whispered after her, "No, you don't have to like it, but you better not let him know that you don't like it."

Daphne hesitated slightly upon hearing her mother's words. Then she approached Harry, and as she neared him he turned to look at her. "Good day, Lady Daphne," came his formal greeting as he bowed slightly to her.

Daphne gave a forced smile as she curtsied ever so sightly. "Good day to you, Lord Potter-Black. Could I interest you in a tour of our gardens?"

Harry smiled and offered her his arm. "That would be most delightful," he added. "And, please, if we could, let's do away with this formality."

Daphne suppressed a slight shiver at his offering his arm, but she took it and smiled back at him. The two then made their way out into the gardens. They walked slowly as Daphne pointed out various magical and muggle plants that they had growing in different locations.

"Your family home is quite lovely," said Harry, trying to start a conversation that was not discussing herbology and plants.

"Why, thank you, my Lord," she stopped herself from her formal reply, and then sated, "I'm sorry. Thank you, Harry."

The two made their way around a pond on the far side of the gardens. Daphne had been curious about the meeting and their topics and asked him how the meeting was going.

Harry turned to face her as he responded to her. "Well, your father did start the meeting by essentially proposing an alliance. Neville actually commented that keeping the proposed alliance informal at first may actually help with some of the discussed plans, but eventually we may want to formalise an alliance as we work together in order to help move the magical world out of its stagnation."

"And just what is wrong with our world?" demanded Daphne. "Are you trying to convince these people to abandon our traditions and become more like the muggles?"

She stepped away from Harry and placed her hands on her hips, defiantly awaiting his response.

"No, not at all," said Harry, feeling a little puzzled at her attitude and words. "On the contrary, I think we need to work on education for all of magical society on just what the traditions are and why they are in existence. Having witches and wizards, muggle-born and pure-bloods, half-bloods and supposed half-breeds, all understanding why we need each other, and what we can do to work together, that will go a long way in helping our society."

Daphne was surprised by his answer, and briefly wondered if she may have misjudged him.

Harry then shifted a little awkwardly on his feet, looked down at his hands and then back at Daphne. "I must say, Daphne, that over the past year, with having to work with you on the celebrations and the memorial, and the other projects, I am quite impressed with you. You're a brilliant witch."

Daphne tried to prevent any blush from rising to her cheeks as she worked to control her emotions as his comments had definitely caught her off guard.

Harry continued, "I have been trying to learn and understand magical traditions, and I know that they are important to your family."

Daphne wondered where he was leading with his comments, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

"While I am new to trying to understand magical traditions, I do hope that I am not overstepping my bounds," he said, his voice almost cracking "and I may not be going about this the right way." He paused and looked her in her eyes. "I would be honoured if you would consider a betrothal between us. Would, you, Daphne Greengrass, consent to a betrothal with me?"

Daphne was speechless, her jaw dropped. That was not anything she would have ever dreamed of his asking her. Her mind was racing, trying to come up with an answer, any answer. She closed her mouth, her face turning red with anger. Anger that he dared to ask her such a thing. Anger that he had the audacity to make her lose her composure. Anger that he was such an idiot that he would just simply assume that she would fall at his feet and say 'yes.' So she whispered, "No."

Harry tilted his head forward slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I heard your reply."

She took a half step back and looked into his eyes. Those damnable emerald eyes. She wanted to curse at him. She bit the inside of her cheek briefly before she responded more loudly. "No. I said 'no' Potter. Why would I ever agree to be betrothed to you? I hate you!"

Harry stepped back as though he had been slapped. "Umm, what? Uh, excuse me?"

"You, Harry Potter," exclaimed Daphne, her voice getting louder as she continued, "you are a horrible person. I hate you for what you have done. You think you have all the answers."

"Um, I do not," objected Harry so quietly he was not heard.

"I hate you for your arrogance," she continued. "Do you think anything might tempt me to accept the man who has ruined, perhaps forever, the happiness of a most beloved sister? Do you deny it Potter? I hate you for what you did to Astoria, you destroyed her relationship with Longbottom. She actually really cared for him! I hate you for what you did to the Weasleys. The Weasleys! The family took you in, treated you like one of their own, and yet you treated them like dirt, cast them all aside. And now, now you're trying to change our traditions. To do away with things that we have done for years, for centuries even. All to make us more acceptable to muggles and muggle born! From the first moment I met you, your arrogance, your conceit, your selfish distain for the feelings of others, made me realise that, Harry Potter-Black, if you were the last man alive I would not marry you!"

Harry swallowed hard, taking in what he had just heard. "Forgive me, Lady Daphne, for taking up so much of your time."

Daphne in turn rolled her eyes at the man standing in front of her. "Forgive you, the arrogant, self righteous arse? No, I will do nothing to inflate your ego any more than it already is!" With those final words in her tirade, she turned and stormed off around the pond, leaving Harry surprised and shocked and all alone.

Harry stood there, wondering just how he had offended her so, and what she meant by how he had destroyed Neville and Astoria's relationship, or even worse, how had he treated the Weasley family poorly. He gazed across the pond and he could see a number of the other men staring at him, wondering what he had just done to upset the young witch so dramatically. Harry made his way around the pond. Neville was coming to greet him, to ask about what had just happened, as everyone had heard Daphne yelling although no one understood just what she had said.

Harry shook his head, stating simply that he would explain it all later to him. "I really need to be leaving right now," he added, "give my apologies to the other men, I will speak with you later, but I really must be leaving at this time." With those words Harry made his way towards the path that would lead around the house. One of the Greengrass house elves appeared and asked Harry if he needed anything. Harry shrugged, then asked for a floo which he could use for a discreet but quick departure. The elf showed Harry to a seldom used floo near the kitchen that had no incoming designation, but could be used by almost anyone to depart. Harry thanked the house elf, and then made his way through the magical flames and back to his home.

Daphne walked into one of the hallways that led down to the far side of the manor. Her mother, however, was there to meet her.

Olivia asked her eldest daughter, "Would you mind telling me what just happened outside in the garden?"

"Of all the foolish things that egotistical, self-centred, presumptuous jerk could dare to say to me," railed Daphne, pausing to take a deep breath, "he had the audacity to ask me to marry him! He asked for a betrothal!" She then went up to her room in tears.

Olivia clasped her hands to her face, "Well that escalated quickly." She hesitated only a moment before chasing after her daughter to her room.

* * *

**AN: And here we have the first proposal by Mr. Darcy, i.e., Harry, to Elizabeth, i.e., Daphne.**


	9. Chapter 8

P&P8

* * *

**September 2003**

Harry Potter had much to think about. There were his plans for setting up some of his properties for teaching about both magical and muggle history. There was also his involvement in the fledgling alliance being formed by Cyrus Greengrass.

And then there was his failed attempt to begin a relationship with Lord Greengrass' daughter, Daphne. Harry had been learning about magical traditions, and he knew that Daphne and her family were big on following magical traditions. Harry also had learned from his best friend, Neville Longbottom, that one tradition that some magical families still followed was that of betrothal. Now that he had been flat out rejected by Daphne Greengrass, he wondered if he should have handled the entire proposition differently, or if he should have even bothered with trying to speak with her that day at her family's manor. He had been spending more time working with Daphne on various projects through the Ministry of Magic, and he had hoped that what he had felt towards her was mutual. He was impressed with her as being a strong willed witch who was skilled and quite intelligent. Not to mention, he found her to be quite beautiful. He wondered how it was that she was still single, but after her rejection of his proposal, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to spend time thinking about that fact anymore.

Harry had decided that he would deal with his issues by travelling, hoping that it would take his mind off of Daphne Greengrass while also help him explore options for his businesses and his future plans. Harry also invited his friend Neville to join him once again, as he did in the spring. As they were both young lords whose families and family businesses were well off, they could afford to travel at their leisure. Neville once again readily accepted Harry's offer to travel.

Once again the two visited many historical sites in Europe, both magical and muggle. Harry was impressed with how several magical museums were set up as a means to learn about a particular aspect of European magical history, which helped him develop his ideas for his properties even further.

Harry also spent time considering the words that Daphne had spoken to him at the edge of the pond at her family's gardens, that Astoria was devastated by Neville ending their relationship and how she blamed Harry for that change. Harry and Neville were riding in a carriage that was taking them back to the hotel they were staying at after having toured a chateau that was once owned by one of the wizards who had helped found Beauxbatons Academy.

"Neville, I was wondering," began Harry, "do you regret not seeing Astoria lately?"

Neville was surprised that his friend had broached the subject. "Umm, yeah, I think so. I've been trying to keep her out of my mind, but I really have not been able to. And the few times I have run into Hannah, she has made it clear how happy she is that I am not dating a 'good for nothing' Slytherin. While it's clear that Hannah is trying to worm her way back into my life, the way she has been going about it has only made me less interested in ever reviving that relationship and I think I miss Astoria even more."

Harry nodded as he listened to his friend's response. "Perhaps, I may have been mistaken in my assessment of the youngest Greengrass daughter. We have been getting to know her family, or at least her father, and I am aware that their family business is starting to recover."

Neville smiled at Harry. "You wouldn't happen to have any inside information on just why the Greengrass Import business is improving?"

Harry smiled slightly.

"And you're not about to admit that to any of them, are you?" Neville's question was clearly rhetorical.

As they stepped out of the carriage, Harry smiled as he enjoyed the warm fall breeze and the weather that was clearly more seasonable than what they had left behind in England. "Perhaps I should host a party at one of my manors after we return," said Harry. "As a way of introducing the plans of turning the manor into a magical history museum. Not unlike what we have seen here, but have some rooms or exhibits that help muggle-borns learn about magical traditions and pure-bloods learn about the muggle world."

"You already mentioned that as a plan when we met with the new alliance," said Neville.

"Yes, yes," acknowledged Harry, "but I have even more specific ideas at this time."

"Well, a party would be a welcome change of pace, my friend," said Neville as they entered the hotel lobby. "You have been so focused and busy over the past month, even this trip you have every last moment of the day planned out."

"Oh, that reminds me Neville, I have a meeting with some possible financial backers for my plans," said Harry.

Neville shook his head, "See, Harry, that's what I'm talking about. We were coming here for a vacation and you've turned it completely into a business venture."

"I have not," protested Harry. "We've had time to relax, to enjoy ourselves."

Neville scoffed at Harry's reply. "No, my friend, _I_ have taken time to relax. _You_, however, have been all about business and politics. So, while we may have had the time to relax, you have not done so."

Harry looked away from his friend for a moment. "I've had many things on my mind. Many things I am dealing with."

"And Daphne Greengrass isn't one of those things on your mind?" asked Neville, feeling free to prod him.

Harry's head snapped quickly to look at Neville. "I should hope not. It's amazing, actually, that all of Magical Britain hasn't heard tell of what happened at their family's estate. The way she yelled at me! I was sure you all heard her every word." With a disgusted look on his face, Harry turned away from Neville as they stepped onto the lift to take them to their respective suites.

After a moment of silence between them, Neville hummed slightly before adding, "So, you're planning on having a party after we return? Who will be invited?"

"I will be sure to invite Astoria," said Harry simply, his demeanour having relaxed after they stepped onto the lift.

As they made their way to their suite Neville considered that his friend was trying to help him get back together with Astoria, which the more he thought about that idea, the more he liked it. But he still had one thought that was nagging him, so as they entered the room and sat down in the elegant lounge area of the suite he felt compelled to speak his mind to his friend.

"So, Harry, I've been meaning to ask you something, and I don't mean to get you upset by asking this, particularly with how things went the last time you saw her," said Neville tentatively as his fingers played with the edge of his robes.

Harry raised an eyebrow, curious as Neville rarely would speak up or seem uncomfortable about anything. "What is it, Nev?"

"Well, when you asked Daphne about the betrothal, I was just kind of surprised, and, well, I was wondering, why? Why Daphne Greengrass? Why then, when we were in the midst of a political meeting with her father? Why at her family's home?" Before Harry could respond Neville added, "You don't have to answer me, if you don't want to."

Harry sighed, leaned back on the sofa he was seated on and rubbed a hand through his hair.

"No, that's okay, I don't mind you asking," said Harry. Harry turned to gaze out the large window on one side of the suite as he gathered his thoughts before answering Neville any further.

Neville breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't made Harry angry with the question and he was then surprised when Harry turned to face him with a large smile.

"Well, you may not have noticed, with all of your attention on her sister Astoria," said Harry, "but Daphne _is_ a beautiful witch. I dare say, one of the most beautiful women I have ever met, even compared to Fleur."

"Well, that's saying something," said Neville as he smiled in response.

"But it's not just that she's an attractive witch, but of course, that only helps matters," continued Harry. "She's smart. She's Hermione smart. First of all, her grades were nearly as good, if not even better in some classes, than Hermione's were back at school. And besides, you don't get her position in the ministry based on your looks. Not under Shacklebolt's administration anyway. She is good at what she does. She pays attention to details."

"If all you cared about were brains, you would have been dating Hermione," said Neville. "And if all you cared about were looks you would have your pick of many witches. So, your first two points still don't answer my question, at least, not really. Why Daphne? Why Greengrass?"

Harry chuckled a little and looked down at the back of his hands before he replied to Neville. "For starters, she is not a fan girl. She's not one to care that I am known as the Boy Who Lived. She doesn't look at me with those puppy dog eyes of so many witches just hoping that I would pay them any attention. She's made it more than clear that my status as a supposed 'hero' doesn't mean anything to her."

Harry paused as he let his comments sink in with Neville. Then his eyes seemed to get a little brighter as he continued. "And I also happen to know that she cares. She cares for others. She cares about children. She has a soft spot, she has a heart."

Neville raised an eyebrow to the latest proclamation. "And just how are you so sure about that?"

Harry smiled. "Because I happen to know that she has been volunteering at the orphanage, the Home For Gifted Children. She goes there on the weekends, usually a couple of times a month, and she spends time with many of the kids. She has offered to help pay for some of the expenses at the home."

Neville narrowed his eyes as he listened to Harry's comments. "And just how did you come across that information? You're not spying on her, are you? You haven't hired an investigator or anything like that, have you?"

Harry leaned back into the sofa and placed a hand on his chest. "You wound me, Neville. I would never do anything like that."

Neville shook his head slightly, "No, no, of course you wouldn't. But, how did you learn about her going to the orphanage?"

"I do check up on all of my businesses from time to time, Neville," said Harry with a slight smirk. "That is one of the many things we learned from your gran, and from all of the tutors she set us up with on the Continent. Always know what is going on with your properties, your businesses."

Neville rubbed the back of his neck as he processed what Harry was telling him. "All anyone has published about the orphanage is that it is run by some investment group."

"PP&M Investments," stated Harry. "PP&M does a lot more than run the orphanage."

"PP&M? Wait, that's your company? I thought you had something named after your parents." Neville was still surprised by his friend.

"Oh, a few things that I am willing to let people know about, those are run by J&L Holdings. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who J&L are," said Harry.

"James and Lily Potter," said Neville. "I don't know what a rocket scientist is, but even I can see that. But PP&M?"

"You remember my map at school?"

Neville's eyes widened. "Oh, the special map. It showed you where everyone was. It was made by your dad, and his friends, the masqueraders. Or something."

"The Marauders," said Harry. "You've heard the story before."

"Wormtail was the fourth," said Neville. "The other three, that was your dad, and your godfather, and Professor Lupin."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement. "You have seen the map before," added Harry encouragingly.

"Messrs Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail. Isn't that who made the map?"

Harry smiled at his friend. "Absolutely. But we can forget the traitor."

"Which leaves Prongs, Padfoot and Moony," said Neville nodding his head in understanding. "But, aren't you worried someone will figure out PP&M?"

"Who? Hermione? Even if she did, I trust her." Harry shrugged his shoulders as he continued. "Ron? Not likely to happen. George Weasley? He might. He's actually the most likely to figure it out. But he also would never tell anyone if he did. He probably wouldn't even tell me that he did figure it out."

"Yeah, I can see that he wouldn't tell anyone," said Neville nodding his head once again. Then he smiled at Harry as he started to count off on his fingers, "So you like Daphne because, one - she's beautiful, two - she's smart, three - she's skilled, and four - she's caring."

"Yes, I guess that about sums it up," said Harry. Then he let out a sigh, stood up and walked over to the large window. "Not that any of that matters anymore, she made that more than clear."

* * *

P&P 8.2

* * *

Harry planned his party to be in the middle of October. That way he hoped to avoid any association with the anniversary of his parents' deaths, and the holiday that coincided with that fateful day. Harry had arranged for the party to be held at one of the large estates which he owned, and he announced his plans to turn the estate into a historical museum, open to all of magical Britain. He emphasised the need for both the young and the old within magical society to learn about and remember the traditions of their world, and how those traditions may or may not have affected their history.

Since he was planning the party to be centred on the history of the magical world, he had invited Hermione to help him plan and host the party, something to which she readily agreed.

When it came time for the party to be held, Harry and Hermione greeted the guests as they arrived for the first thirty minutes or so, then they proceeded to mingle and speak with the people who had come to the party. After about ninety minutes into the evening's festivities, Harry called out to the guests who were gathered around the main ballroom, and made his official announcement of his plans. He indicated that he would be looking forward to receiving input from any who had knowledge on the history of magic in Britain, as he himself did not dare to claim to be an expert on that subject.

Once he had made his announcement, Harry had begun to circulate among his guests. He was glad to see that Astoria Greengrass had indeed arrived. He managed to slip in next to her, and when he had the chance he interrupted the conversation she was having with another witch, someone whom Harry did not recognise.

"Lord Potter-Black, to what do I owe the pleasure and honour of you pulling me aside?" she asked innocently albeit coldly as she was still irritated that Harry had been the one to drive her and Neville apart.

"First of all, Miss Greengrass," said Harry as he walked her towards a hallway off to the side of the main room, "I must offer my apologies. I believe that I spoke about my unfounded fears and that may have led to you and my best friend to grow distant. I would like a chance to make amends for that now." As he said those words he turned a corner for them to come face to face with Neville speaking with Hermione.

Neville looked up at Harry and then at Astoria, and he could not prevent the smile from coming across his face. Harry quickly beckoned Hermione to join him and the two made their way back into the great room, leaving a speechless Astoria and a slightly startled Neville alone in the hallway.

Neville swallowed hard, and then spoke up, "Astoria, it is good to see you. You look as beautiful as ever."

Astoria smiled back at him.

* * *

P&P 8.3

* * *

Back in the main room, Daphne Greengrass was looking for her sister whom she had accompanied. She spied Harry Potter-Black and Hermione Granger making their way back into the room from an adjoining hallway. Daphne started to make her way over towards the host and hostess of the party when a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

A tall and slender red headed witch spun Daphne around to face her. With a drunken slur she called out too loudly to the woman who was now facing her. "Daphne Greengrass, my, my my, what would ever cause you to show up to a party thrown by Harry Potter?"

Daphne's eyes widened as she realised that she was being verbally accosted by Potter's former girlfriend.

"Several people have heard the tale of how you rejected Harry," said Ginny Weasley, continuing with her overly loud bombardment. "You don't deserve someone like Harry, you evil snake! You're just as slimy as all of the other Slytherins."

Daphne shook her head as she tried to comprehend what was transpiring.

Ginny took a step towards her and stumbled, clearly unsteady due to too much to drink. Ginny regained her balance, and raised her hand to slap Daphne, who was staring at her, with obvious disgust etched on her face. Before Ginny could strike, however, someone grabbed her arm.

Harry had arrived and his eyes were narrow and his expression was stern. "Miss Weasley, I believe it is clear that you have had more than enough to drink tonight. I will have a house elf escort you to your home, that way we can all be sure that you arrive there safely."

Ginny looked up as she was trying to not lose her balance and fall over. "Harry? My Harry?"

"I am not _your_ Harry," he said calmly. Then he nodded and a house elf showed up next to him. Harry turned to the elf, "See to it that she makes it home safely."

The elf reached out and took the witch, who was still a little off balance, by her hand, and then without a sound they disappeared.

Harry then turned to Daphne, "My apologies, Miss Greengrass, for the unfortunate display and the manner in which you were treated."

Before Daphne could respond, Harry had turned around and started to walk away. She then noticed Cassandra Woodson, Neville's cousin, step forward and take Harry's arm as they disappeared into the crowd that had quickly formed around the scene.

Daphne felt someone step up next to her and a comforting arm embrace her. She turned to see Hermione Granger standing by her side. "I am sure that Harry feels absolutely horrible that this happened," stated Hermione. "He has had minimal contact with Ginny lately. Ever since she started her career with the Holyhead Harpies, she has become distant to many of her former friends. Apparently her new found fame as a star chaser isn't helping her make better life decisions."

Daphne nodded numbly as she tried to regain control of her emotions. "Have you seen my sister, Astoria, recently?"

Hermione smiled in response. "Last I knew, she and Neville were alone out on one of the balconies. Should I send someone for them?"

Daphne smiled. "No, leave them be."

* * *

P&P 8.4

* * *

After the party had finally ended, Hermione and Daphne and Tracey had agreed to meet up in a quieter place the following week. Daphne had finished the work she had needed to do for an upcoming project earlier than expected and apparated to Hogsmeade Village where the three were planning to meet. Wanting to avoid any crowds, they had agreed to meet at the Hogshead, which was easily a little more cleaned up after the end of the war. Daphne Greengrass had often wondered how so many of the businesses in Hogsmeade had been able to afford repairs and upgrades after the damages caused by the recent war, but she never took the time to investigate the changes, she simply appreciated that they had occurred.

Daphne walked into the tavern, knowing that she had arrived at least fifteen minutes before her friends were due to show up. She spied a table over towards one corner and walked over and took a seat. A waitress came over and asked her if she wanted to order, or was she waiting on friends. Daphne smiled, ordered a glass of wine, and explained that she had some friends that would be showing up soon. The waitress smiled back at her and disappeared behind the bar.

Daphne looked around the tavern, there was hardly anyone there. A couple over in one corner, and a man slumped against the bar. The man moved slightly, let out a belch and a groan and then sat up. He ran a hand through his messy red hair, and looked around the room. Noticing Daphne sitting at a table, his eyes focused on her and he stood up and staggered over towards where she was sitting.

Daphne thought to herself, "Why do I always have to encounter drunk Weasleys?"

Ron Weasley was drunk, and as he sat himself down at the table where she was sitting, she could smell the fire whiskey on his breath.

"Well, well, well," he drawled, "if it isn't the slimy little snake who got my sister kicked out of Potter's party last week? The same little snake who tried to weasel into his life and broke his heart? Don't worry, he seems to have gotten over you. Witch Weekly reports he's busy spending time with Cassandra somebody. Apparently she's Longbottom's cousin."

Daphne stiffened at his words. "I did no such thing, and your sister's behaviour was all on her. Lord Potter-Black was just doing what any sensible host would do when he had your sister removed. Public drunkenness is at best a rude behaviour, and at worst, it is an offence that could have the Aurors toss you in cell overnight, and possibly have you fined."

"Me? Fined? But I'm Ron Weasley, part of the Goldennnnnn," he paused and burped, "…Den Trio. I'm famous, I'll have you know."

"You're drunk and disgusting," stated Daphne. "And what is this you said about Potter and Cassandra Woodson?" Daphne prided herself in remembering people's names, even off she only had heard them once.

Ron grunted and pulled a wrinkled and tattered magazine out of his robes and tossed it at Daphne. There on the cover was a picture of Harry Potter-Black dancing with Cassandra Woodson. The caption asked if this was the new lady in Lord Potter-Black's life.

Daphne sniffed at the picture and tossed it aside. "I don't care who Potter is associating with."

"Yeah, whatever, you just keep telling yourself that." Ron snorted and then he looked up at Daphne. "Do you know the difference between Potter and me?"

"You're drunk and he's simply rude even when he's sober?" asked Daphne, sure that her wit would be lost on the man in front of her.

"Oh, yeah, he's probably sober, I'll grant you that. But I will be too, tomorrow, I think," said Ron as he tried to shake his head slightly, which caused him to stop and hold his head momentarily. "No, what the difference is, is that everyone thinks _he_ is the hero, but _I was there _for all of it. Well, almost all of it, but we don't need to talk about the camping trip."

"What camping trip?" asked Daphne, silently yelling at herself for even responding to the man's question.

"We're not talking about the camping trip, I already said that. Aren't you listening?" Ron sputtered something in disgust before looking back up at her. "But I was with him for everything else. Well, almost everything. I _was_ there when we went into the forbidden hallway when we were first years!" He smiled broadly at that particular memory.

"I always knew Potter was a rule breaker," she said smugly.

"No, no, it wasn't about the rules, it was about the Philosopher's Stone," said Ron.

"Right," said Daphne, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. "There was a Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts."

"Who told you that the stone was at Hogwarts?" asked Ron.

Daphne shook her head. She wondered just how drunk was Weasley? And could he even be telling the truth about anything.

"The stone was there because Dumbledore was hiding it from Voldemort, because he knew Voldemort was coming back," said Ron as if that explained everything.

Daphne shook her head at the ramblings of the drunk man in front of her. This was becoming even stranger than she had imagined when he first came over to speak with her.

"But what no one knew, was that Voldemort had come back, he was a wrath, or a rake, or a spirit. He was a wraith, yeah, that's it, and he had possessed professor Quiddle, or Squirrel," he muttered.

"Professor _Quirrel_ was professed by Voldemort?" she asked. This was what Potter had said to her when they first started working on the ceremony to honour the war victims. Even Weasley when he was drunk was confirming what Potter had said, and it definitely explained some of the strange things about the man who was supposed to be teaching them Defence Against the Dark Arts during their first year.

"Yeah, how did you know about that? No one was supposed to know about that," said Ron. He then looked around, Daphne presumed he was looking for a drink or to see if anyone else was listening to him. "Well, after Harry killed Quirrel _and_ he saved the Philosopher's Stone, Dumbles didn't want anyone to know what happened, but he awarded Harry lots of points for what he did." Ron burped once again.

"It figures," said Daphne, "Draco did declare that Harry always got points for breaking the rules."

"No, no," said Ron, acting offended, "we, or he, got the rules for breaking, I mean we got the points for saving the school. Harry always got points every time he beat Voldemort."

Daphne nodded her head, not believing what she was hearing. Weasley was drunk, so she was initially going to dismiss everything he was saying, but much of it agreed with what Potter had told her in her office that one time when he explained how he had defeated Riddle five or more times.

"So, how many times did Potter beat Voldemort?" She figured the drunk man was willing to tell her stories, and asking him to leave might just make a scene that she didn't want to deal with. At least, not before her friends arrived. Right now, she assessed, he was harmless, or perhaps _mostly_ harmless. Besides, she found it curious to see how much Weasley's stories when he was drunk would match up to the brief summary she had received from Potter.

"Well, he did it several times when we were at school," said Ron. He then let out another loud burp. Daphne wrinkled her nose and tried not to take a deep breath to avoid breathing in his stench.

"Several times?" she questioned. That is what Potter had indicated, but she didn't want to let on to this drunkard that Potter had told her some of the stories.

"Well, yeah, there was first year, as I said, then there was the next year, our second year," he added.

Daphne recalled Potter had said something about a giant magical snake from second year, and his nearly dying form the encounter. "I'm not sure I should even ask you, but what happened second year?"

"What happened? Everyone remembers the Heir of Slytherin and all of the putrified, um, petrified people and all that. Well, first off, Harry wasn't the Heir of Slytherin, or at least he wasn't then. He might be now, I dunno, maybe I'll ask him," said Ron as his story wandered. "But yeah, second year, Harry killed the basilisk."

"The basilisk?" she asked seeking confirmation, and trying to sound as if she hadn't heard any of this before.

"Yeah, what do you think was petrifying everyone?"

Daphne nearly snorted in reply, "Everyone knows that a real basilisk can kill with its gaze, it doesn't _petrify_ people." She then silently chastised herself for actually arguing with someone who was drunk.

"Oh, look who thinks she so smart! I thought you were top of the class with 'Mione. But maybe not," said Ron with a slight laugh. "Hermione figured it out back then, but still, even she got putrified. Urm, petrified. Everyone knows basilisks can kill, but what many people didn't know, or forgot, or something, is, or was, that if the basilisk's gaze is seen through a reflection than it only purifies, um, turns you to stone or something like that. Makes it so you can't move at all. If that happens, then it doesn't kill you."

"Fine, fine, so it can petrify people," Daphne acknowledged. "So, how did Potter kill it? Don't tell me, let me guess, he used the _Sword of Gryffindor_ because he was Gryffindor's Golden Boy."

Ron's jaw dropped. "Who told you?" Ron looked around the room to see if anyone was listening in. "How did you know?"

"What?!" exclaimed Daphne.

Ron shushed her before he continued. "The Sorting Hat gave Harry the sword, down in the Chamber. Dumbledore didn't want anyone else knowing about that."

"What chamber?" asked Daphne, mentally berating herself for continuing this conversation with the drunk man who smelled awful.

"The Chamber of Secrets, Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets," said Ron as if that explained everything. Seeing a dumbfounded look on the woman in front of him, Ron continued. "Hello, parseltongue, Harry spoke, or speaks, or whatever, he speaks parseltongue. Everyone thought that meant Harry was the Heir of Slytherin, but what it did do is it allowed him to find and get into the Chamber of Secrets."

"And fight, and kill a basilisk," said Daphne, her tone indicating she was finding the story hard to believe even if Potter had told her a little about it. "So, then, how, exactly, did the Sorting Hat give him the Sword of Gryffindor?"

Ron shook his head, "I'm telling the truth, here, I am. Pay attention to the story. Fawkes, that was Dumbledore's phoenix, he, the bird that is, brought the Sorting Hat to Harry in the chamber."

"And Potter took the sword and slew the giant beast, saving some damsel in distress," said Daphne.

Ron sat back, his jaw dropped open, and stared at her. "I thought you said you didn't know this story."

"What?" asked Daphne.

"It was just as you said, Harry took the sword, stabbed it into the roof of the mouth of the basilisk, and he saved my sister," said Ron.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Weasley, didn't anyone tell you that if you're going to make up a story that you should at least make it believable? If someone was to stab a basilisk in the mouth," began Daphne.

Ron interrupted her, "A giant basilisk, I saw the thing, it was over sixty feet long, maybe over eighty."

"Fine, a _giant_ basilisk. If someone was to have stabbed such a creature, in the mouth, how did they not get bit by such a snake if it was as big as you say?" demanded Daphne.

"You do know this story!" exclaimed Ron. "I thought you said you didn't. But you see, that's the thing, the snake _did_ bite him." Ron straitened a little in his chair before he added, "Harry pulled the fang out of his arm."

"Sure, tell me some more Weasley," said Daphne. The story did match what Potter said, but she didn't question him about the basilisk biting him when he told her about that incident. "If that happened, then why is Potter even alive? Everyone knows that basilisk venom is incredibly lethal. And that it will kill a person very quickly."

Ron shook his head, "Duh. I told you, are you even listening? Fawkes was there. Fawkes _cried_ into his wound, everyone knows about the healing power of phoenix tears."

"Fine, he killed a giant basilisk, saved your sister, from said basilisk, and survived being bitten by a basilisk," said Daphne, feeling exhausted just listening to the story. "But, there is no Voldemort in this story."

Ron rubbed his face, yawned slightly, and shook his head. "No, no no, you're not listening. Voldemort had left part of his soul," Ron paused for a moment, looked around the room once again, then leaned closer to her, much to Daphne's displeasure, "by the way this is top secret stuff. He, Voldemort, the dark wanker, left part of his soul in a book, an old diary. That book, that soul piece was possessing my sister, Ginny. He was trying to take a physical form. He was laughing at Harry, watching him die from the basilisk bite, when Harry took the fang out of his arm and then stabbed the book, killing the soul piece that was possessing my sister. So, there you have it. Basilisk dead. Voldemort dead, well, sort of, a part of him was now dead. And Harry, not dead!" He leaned back and folded his arms across his chest.

"And what did he do to kill Voldemort during our third year?" asked a still very suspicious Daphne as she tried to recall what Potter had said about their third year.

"What? Third year? No, he didn't face Voldemort that year. That was the year he saved his godfather, and cast the patronus that chased away over a hundred dementors," said Ron.

"Now I know that you're having me on," said Daphne, leaning back in her chair away from Weasley, refusing to believe Ron's latest claim.

Ron scoffed at her disbelief. "So, who taught _you_ how to cast a patronus?"

"No one, I can't cast a patronus. That is a _very_ difficult spell," she said.

"Who taught you DADA during our fifth year? And don't tell me the Toad," said Ron.

"We had to study on our own," she said, clearly irritated at remembering the horrible teacher that Umbridge was. "It was clear that no one would get an O in that class, or even an Exceeds Expectations."

"Many of us did," said Ron. "Well, we mostly got Es, but Harry, he had the highest grade in our class that year. He cast his patronus for extra credit in the practical."

Daphne sniffed slightly at the comment. Harry Potter was definitely not known for his grades or his performance in school. But she did recall a story about the Inquisitorial Squad catching Potter and his friends in their meeting with Dumbledore's Army, the student group that Umbridge had said was set up by the headmaster to fight against her and the ministry. Could they have really just been studying Defence Against the Dark Arts and learning the patronus charm? But still, Potter was otherwise not known for his academic performance, not counting sixth year potions where he somehow managed to beat everyone, and no one, not even Granger, had any idea how he had managed to do that. Perhaps he actually did have some skill in defence, or at least he could do a corporeal patronus charm since they were third years.

"Well, I guess we did eventually have confirmation that Potter really did face a resurrected Dark Lord at the end of the Triwizard Tournament," conceded Daphne.

Ron nodded in response to her comment. "Yeah, and then they battled to a draw, sort of, at the end of fifth year at the Department of Mysteries," said Ron, whose eyes were now getting heavy.

Daphne was about to ask him more about that event, as he clearly was referencing the night that the magical world was forced to acknowledge that the Dark Lord had returned, when suddenly Ron fell forward, his face smacking on the table in front of him, apparently passed out from the effects of the fire whiskey he had been drinking.

Daphne jumped back in her chair at the sound of the thud, just as Hermione and Tracey walked through the door. Then the owner of the bar came out quickly from the back at that time as well.

"What in Merlin's name has this lout gotten himself into this time?" came the deep bass voice of the owner.

Hermione looked at Daphne who was shaking her head as she said, "I had nothing to do with this. I ordered a glass of wine, and the Weasel here came over here and sat down, started telling me all sorts of stories about Potter, then he just passed out."

Hermione turned to the owner, "Aberforth, can you put Ronald in a room somewhere. You know Harry will cover the expenses."

"Just like always," acknowledged the gruff bearded man as he wiped his hands with a dirty towel. He then called out and a dirt covered house elf appeared. Aberforth made some quiet commands, then with a barely audible pop the house elf and Ron disappeared.

"Can't you all find some other place for him to hang out?" asked Aberforth as he turned and walked away.

Hermione sighed as she sat down at the table after casting a cleaning charm on the area where Ron had collapsed. The waitress arrived with a rag to wipe the table but found it was already cleaned. Then she took the orders for the other two women and went back behind the bar.

"Was that Dumbledore's brother?" asked Tracey.

"Yes," said Hermione, "he has run this place for a long, long time."

The waitress brought out the glasses of wine for Hermione and Tracey, as Daphne asked for a second glass.

Hermione looked at Daphne, then asked her, "What exactly did Ron tell you?"

Daphne straightened a little, then she answered her friend. "First he showed me the cover of Witch Weekly, with Potter and Longbottom's cousin. Then he went on about Harry killing our DADA professor at the end of first year, who was apparently possessed by the dark lord."

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, he did that."

Tracey's eyes went wide at hearing that revelation, while Daphne seemed to just take it in. "What was on the cover of Witch Weekly?"

Hermione shook her head, "It was just a picture of Harry dancing with Cassandra, Neville's cousin. I don't know why they have to make a big deal about every little thing Harry does." Then she turned to face Daphne. "What else did Ron talk about?"

"He said those things about Quirrel, and then he claimed that in doing so, Potter rescued the Philosopher's Stone," added Daphne.

"The Philosopher's Stone? That's just a myth, a legend," stated Tracey.

Hermione ignored Tracey's quip, "Dumbledore, Albus that is, the headmaster, well, he either destroyed the stone or returned it to Nicholas Flamel. Not sure why he ever borrowed it from Flamel in the first place, unless he was deliberately setting Harry up that year by trying to draw out Voldemort, but that's not something I choose to dwell on."

Tracey's jaw dropped, and Daphne shook her head slightly. "So, even in his drunken stupor, the Weasel was actually telling me the truth?"

"Ronald's really not that good at making up stories," conceded Hermione. "What else did he say?"

Daphne leaned back as she recalled what he had gone on about. "Well, he talked about our second year. He said something about a giant basilisk, of all things."

Tracey loudly snorted at that comment. "Come on, a giant basilisk? In the school?"

"It roamed through the pipes, it was a magical beast, and it lived in the Chamber of Secrets," said Hermione calmly.

"Wait! What? You're not joking," stated a perplexed Tracey.

"No, we don't joke about it," said Hermione. As she noted the continued doubting look on both of the witches' faces, she added, "And yes, I saw the corpse of the beast, it was at least eighty feet long, I think Harry underestimated how big it really was."

Daphne shifted in her seat. "And the sword?"

Tracey had a puzzled expression as she mouthed the words "what sword?"

Hermione took a deep breath, "If Ronald told you that Harry received the Sword of Gryffindor because Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, showed up, carrying the Sorting Hat, and that a certain magical hat just happened to have the fabled sword hidden inside it, then, yes, that part about the sword is true. As you might recall, the sorting hat gave the same sword to Neville at the Battle of Hogwarts and he used it to kill Nagini, Riddle's giant pet snake."

Daphne smiled, "Ah, so it may be, but you didn't say anything about Potter having been bitten by the basilisk!"

Hermione closed her eyes for a moment. "One of the basilisk's fangs was embedded in Harry's right forearm. You can see the scar if you ask him, but he really doesn't like to talk about it or show off any of his scars."

Tracey's eyes went wide. "Wait, wait, wait. Potter has more scars than the famous one on his forehead?"

Hermione's lips thinned before she replied, speaking slowly, "We are not going to discuss _any_ of Harry's scars._ At all._" Her tone made it clear there would be no further discussion on that topic.

Daphne and Tracey exchanged a look, and they both wanted to know more but they knew that there was no way they were about to find out anything else on that particular subject.

"And the damsel in distress?" asked Daphne.

Hermione took a deep breath, and another sip of wine. "Ginny Weasley was the one who was down in the Chamber of Secrets, the one whose body was supposedly never going to be found, if you recall the warning. Well, obviously, she _was_ found and she _was_ saved. And, it was a shade of Voldemort that had possessed her. And it was this shade that Harry managed to defeat _after_ he had killed the basilisk." She took another deep breath and narrowed her eyes as she leaned in to whisper to her two friends. "All of that information is considered a ministry secret, and it is not supposed to be told to anyone. Not anyone!" Then she added quietly, "Ron could be in big trouble now."

"But what is so secret about that?" asked Tracey, her face expressing her confusion.

"Because the magic that was used to enable Voldemort to return as he did at the end of our fourth year, the magic that enabled him to nearly return through a shade form and by possessing another student, that magic is _very_ dark and _very_ dangerous and no one can be allowed to try and repeat what he did," said Hermione in a continued hushed tone.

The three witches sat in silence for a minute, then Tracey started to laugh.

Daphne gave her a sharp look, "What is so funny all of a sudden?"

"All those times that Draco complained about Harry making up stories and not being very skilled," said Tracey, "well, Draco was wrong, oh so very wrong. Harry Potter did more amazing things than Malfoy could ever hope to do."

"Perhaps, but the most amazing thing he has ever done was try and embarrass me at my parent's home, in front of a number of guests," said Daphne.

Tracey rolled her eyes at her friend. "That was months ago that he proposed to you, or begged for a betrothal."

"He didn't beg, he quite nearly demanded," snapped Daphne in reply.

"Potter's been travelling for months, he inly just returned to England just before that party he held," said Tracey.

"You did mention that you thought he had been paying an inordinate amount of attention to you before he brought up the betrothal," observed Hermione.

"Apparently my rejection of his offer…" started Daphne who was then interrupted by Tracey.

"Your verbally sending a blunger at his betrothal offer, you mean," said Tracey.

Daphne made a face at Tracey and then continued voicing her thought, "my rejection of Lord Potter-Black apparently upset him so much we left to travel around the continent and party with Lord Longbottom."

Hermione shook her head. "It was an extended business trip for his many holdings, and Neville was involved in many if not all of those business meetings. They clearly weren't partying."

"Not this time," added Tracey. "Not like when they went there a few years ago and the newspapers covered all of their trips to night clubs and things such as that."

"Can we at least change the subject," said Daphne with exacerbation in her voice.

"Sure," said Tracey. "Is it true that Longbottom is dating Astoria again?"

"Can we talk about something other than Potter or Longbottom?" asked Daphne, with an added sigh.

* * *

**AN: In response to a review I received on the last chapter, commenting about the proposal from Harry - I have the following response (the review was fine, I just that others may appreciate my commentary here):**

As I recall, Mr. Darcy's first proposal was awkward and unexpected...so I tried to mirror that here. Harry's pride prevented him from seeing the foolishness of how he went about it. Daphne is still governed by her prejudice, and to some extent her own pride

Also, I am getting to the point where I need to do additional writing to chapters and not simply edit them - so updates may not be as quick as they have been over this past week.


	10. Chapter 9

P&P9

* * *

**October 2003**

Harry Potter had been focused on his newest project, the telling of magical history through creating a series of museums at some of his properties. He had been working with his account manager, Gandor, to arrange for the properties to be protected from trophy hunters and publicity hounds while opening them up for many visitors to walk through different parts of the buildings that would be used for the various displays. They would also use parts of the manors as a vacation spot, similar to muggle bed and breakfast places. The use of magic and house elves would make that part of the project easier to run.

Several of the properties were located not far from popular muggle vacation spots, and Harry hoped that would also be a way to introduce the Muggle world to witches and wizards in a more accurate way than the Muggle Studies class at Hogwarts had ever done. A number of the manors that he owned included impressive properties and picturesque landscapes. One of them was located on a hill overlooking the sea, one was in the middle of a lush forest, and another was on the rocky coast of Scotland. Through a small publicity campaign through the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler, word soon got out that there were travel opportunities right within magical Britain, and people were curious to learn about the history of magic as they toured manors they had only heard rumours about for generations.

One of the estates had a large scale farm as well as orchards that included apple, pear and cherry trees. Harry had arranged for it to have demonstrations of muggle farming, which would become more active come the spring; as well as demonstrations on muggle sports, including cricket, football (both Society of English Rules Football, or Soccer, and Rugger Rules Football, or Rugby). The demonstrations on athletics included information about sports that were played in other countries, including American baseball and American football. In one of the large buildings Harry was planning to have information on muggle science and the developments that had been made, but he knew it would take time to set that up and do it properly.

At another estate he had set up information about the wizarding world. He had already spoken with Headmistress Minerva McGonagall about possibly using that sight as an introduction to the magical world for future muggle born wizards and witches when they received their letter inviting them to attend Hogwarts. She had agreed that in principal it sounded quite promising, but wanted to take a wait and see attitude about how effective it would really become. Harry personally thought that even a little information would have to be better than what the school was already doing, particularly considering his own rather limited exposure to the magical world at the hands of Hagrid back in the summer of 1991.

Between the two estates and their demonstrations, Harry had hoped to help open the eyes of all magical people, both to the traditions and customs of the pureblood traditionalists as well as muggle ways, and to do it in a way that would not be perceived as showing one as being superior to the other. Harry had given a series of interviews on the issues surrounding the opening of his various estates to the public, and for the most part he had received a favourable review both from the press and from those who had journeyed to spend some time there.

Daphne Greengrass was commissioned by the Ministry of Magic, by the minister himself, to look into what Lord Harry Potter-Black had created and report back to the Minister for Magic and his department heads about exactly what was going on. As there were not as many ministry sponsored events being lined up right now, Shacklebolt felt that as his personal assistant she would have the time to look into just what Lord Potter-Black was setting up at his estates. The minister supported Harry and all that he was doing, but he felt he needed an unbiased observer to report back to the ministry and his staff.

Daphne had convinced Astoria to join her on a trip to the Black Estate that had been converted into the museum of magical history. They had arranged to stay in one of the guest suites at the manor while Daphne began her research.

Harry Potter was personally reaching out to muggle born witches and wizards, trying to help them understand the importance of learning about the magical world, from a more balanced perspective than any lecture from Cuthbert Binns had ever given and more in depth than any book they would have had the opportunity to read. To this extent, Harry had reached out to Dennis Creavy, whose brother, Colin, had died during the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry had invited the entire Creavy family to come to the estate and learn about the secretive world that had taken the life of Dennis' brother, the world that their sons were joining when they started at this mysterious school in Scotland all those years ago.

Daphne and Astoria were walking through one room, which was filled with information on how witches and wizards had been involved in muggle politics over the centuries, including muggle battles that may have been influenced by magical intervention, even if the muggles had no idea that it had such outside interference or that help had even occurred.

Silene had joined her cousins for the afternoon, and they ventured into a large room that reviewed the Statutes of Secrecy, how and why they came to pass, and important events that led to their necessity. The witch hunts from the time of the medieval ages led to many of the current rules and regulations in the magical world. Having taken a cue from muggle technology, Harry had arranged for various magical depictions of battles, animated mannequins that would interact with the observer as if they were having a conversation, as though they were a three dimensional magical painting. Astoria, Daphne and Silene then entered a room that had information on the history of the Wizengamot. As they were entering the room they noticed Harry Potter was personally giving a tour to the Creavy family, even explaining how he personally ended up with two seats on the Wizengamot.

Daphne was surprised by how much Harry's exhibits showed a clear and concise history of magic. And even more surprised how his make shift talks to the family he was giving the tour to indicated how much he had learned about and actually understood the magical world. However, she chose to avoid any direct contact with him, having been able to successfully avoid any and all contact since the day at her family's estate when she had told him exactly what she had thought about him and his offer of a betrothal.

She turned to her sister and cousin, suggesting that they finish their tour and perhaps grab a bite to eat somewhere before she had to make her report to the Minister for Magic.

"I thought you had to review both of the properties for the minister," said Astoria. "From what Neville tells me, Harry has an equally impressive exhibit set up at the other estate he has opened for tours and education."

"Of course Neville would say that, he'd support anything that came out of Potter's mouth," sneered Daphne.

Silene frowned, "Well, Lord Potter-Black may be an arse, but he did do a pretty decent job of setting this up, giving quite a thorough and balanced presentation on the magical world. I haven't seen any bashing of Slytherins or any self promotion of Gryffindors."

Daphne scoffed at the two. "Why don't you go start your own little fan club then? I'm sure the Holyhead Harpies seeker, the Weaslette, would love to join your group."

With her comment she turned and stormed out of the room they were in and she started to walk quickly through the manor, trying to find her way to the main entrance. As she turned a corner leaving one room and entered a hallway she collided with another person and ended up being knocked backwards and landing on her backside.

She landed with a decidedly unladylike "oof" and closed her eyes and shook her head, startled that she had actually crashed into someone in her haste to leave. At least it isn't Potter, she thought to herself.

Her eyes opened in shock as the voice of the person who was offering her a hand to help her stand up belonged to none other than the very person she had been trying to avoid.

"My apologies, Miss Greengrass," said Harry, "but I should have been paying closer attention to where I was headed as I was leading the Creavy family on this little tour."

Daphne bit her tongue before snapping at the man whose hand was still offered to her to help her stand, having noticed that the Creavy family was standing right behind Potter.

"I suppose that you have either important business to attend to or an emergency of sorts that needs to be addressed so as to explain your rush through the manor," said Harry softly.

Daphne ignored the proffered hand as she managed to stand up on her own, and straightened her robes.

"Actually, Lord Potter-Black," she said without looking him in the eye as she inspected her robes for any dust or dirt that may have come in contact with her, "I do have an important meeting that I must return to at the ministry and I was trying to not be late."

"Well, then, perhaps one of my house elves can be of assistance and help you get there quickly and without any more accidents or distractions," said Harry.

Before Daphne could protest, Harry had summoned a house elf, and she heard him asking the elf to assist him, not commanding him. "Now, Kreacher, if you could be so kind as to assist the Lady Daphne Greengrass here, and bring her to wherever it is that she needs to be, that would be most appreciated."

The aged house elf seemed to acknowledge the request.

Harry Potter did not return to face Daphne, but spoke to the Creavy family. "I am sorry for the slight interruption to your tour. I do have another meeting I need to attend, one of the other house elves can finish the tour with you." Then he spoke directly to Dennis Creavy, shaking his hand firmly. "It was really good to see you again, and thanks for bringing your family." Then he addressed the family once again. "You may have heard it before, but it bears repeating; your son, Colin, was a wonderful young wizard. He continued to be amazed by everything he experienced in the magical world, and he is missed by those who knew him. But never forget that he was a brave and selfless young man who gave his life trying to protect and save others."

Before anyone could say anything else, Harry then made his way across the hall and disappeared into a room and suddenly a door closed silently behind him.

Daphne stared at the door where Potter had disappeared and was brought back to the present as the house elf spoke to her once again. "Where does the Lady Daphne Greengrass need to be?"

"Um, my office," she said, unsure of herself. Then with a slightest addition of confidence she repeated he statement with a slight clarification. "My office, at the Ministry of Magic. If you would be so kind." She assumed that the elf would bring her to a floo connection and that she would travel there on her own.

Daphne appeared in her office, surprised that the house elf, Kreacher, had been able to bypass all of the ministry's security.

"Will the Lady Greengrass require anything else of Kreacher?" asked the elder elf who had just transported her.

Daphne composed herself from her surprise at the situation and cleared her throat before dismissing the elf. "No, thank you, Kreacher, I will be fine."

The house elf disappeared silently and Daphne sat down behind her desk, and put her head in her hands as she tried to process what had just happened. She then let out a groan as she realised that she had physically ran into Lord Potter-Black, and made a fool of herself in front of some family.

She was about to say something out loud to her empty room when the door to her office swung open. It was one of the aides for the department she worked in. "I'm sorry, Miss Greengrass, I didn't see you come in, then I heard a noise in here."

Daphne's face started to turn red. But before she could say anything to the aide, the aide spoke again. "Are you alright, Miss Greengrass? You seem flushed. Are you not feeling well?"

"No, no, I'm fine," said Daphne quickly. "Just dealing with a lot of work for the minister, that's all."

The aide smiled, "Well, okay then. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Sure, yeah, I'll be sure to do that," said Daphne, still feeling flustered.

The aide left the office and Daphne wanted to slam her desk, but stopped herself as she knew that would bring the aide right back in. Instead she leaned back in her chair and let out a slight laugh. "Now I just have to figure out how to meet up with Astoria and Silene again."

Daphne decided that she would first head back to her apartment. As she was stepping out of her office to make her way to the lift to take her to the public floo access, her aide called out to her, "Oh, Miss Greengrass, the minister is still waiting on your reply about the concert."

Daphne stopped and turned to face her aide. "The concert?" She wanted to hit herself in the head for forgetting about this event. "Oh, yes, the concert, he wants the list of who should be honoured at the concert. Tell him that I will get the list to him by the end of the week."

Without waiting for a reply, Daphne turned and made her way to the lift to head home.

* * *

P&P 9.2

* * *

Daphne had returned to her office on Friday morning, and as she sat down at her desk she noticed the memo that her aide had left for her, and she needed the list of recommended honourees for the upcoming concert. She had been working on possible individuals already, but hadn't written any of it down. Of course most of the wizarding world would expect Harry Potter and the rest of the golden trio to be honoured, but sweet Merlin, they're honoured for everything. And the Battle of Hogwarts occurred over five years ago. Potter, it seemed, was making a name for himself with his work on the Wizengamot and his recent establishments of museums or manor houses for educating the wizarding world about muggles and muggle-born about the wizarding world. She grit her teeth as she realised that she would need to include him. Maybe she could ease the situation by honouring some others. Maybe professors from Hogwarts who helped out during the battle, or who are actually known to be superb wizards and witches within their fields. She let her mind think about others who could be invited. Perhaps up and coming Quidditch stars. She thought to herself that would only work if she didn't have to invite the Weasley girl, but as she had made a scene at Potter's latest party, then that should make it easier to not include her. Maybe that keeper for Puddlemere United, Woods or something, and he was apparently a Gryffindor, so he knows Potter, which would make someone happy. And the professors would all know Potter.

Daphne threw down her quill and cursed herself. Why was she still thinking about Potter? Somehow that idiotic Gryffindor was still getting under her skin. Then she slammed her fist on her desk. Why was she actually thinking about their houses from when they were at school? She had previously chided Potter about making references to that school age distinction that shouldn't really apply now in real life.

She took the parchment she had been starting to write on, crumpled it up and tossed it into the air. Then she pulled out her wand and cast a quick incendio spell at the crumpled sheet which quickly turned to flame and then to ash. Daphne felt only slightly better, but then realised that she now needed to banish the ashes from off of her desk. Letting out a slight grunt, she cleaned her desk and pulled out another parchment and picked up her quill. After taking another deep breath she started to neatly write the list of names on the sheet.

Harry Potter-Black

Minerva McGonagall

Filius Flitwick

Poppy Pomfrey

Somebody Wood

Daphne tapped on the parchment with her left hand as she tried to come up with another name. She then thought about the orphanage which she had been to several times to help out. She smiled as she recalled how the grounds and the building were so well kept up and how all of those who were working there or just volunteering such as herself all seemed to truly care for the children. And the young witches and wizards seemed happy. So unlike the nightmarish stories she had heard of such places when she was growing up. Maybe she should find out who really was running the orphanage. Who was the face behind PP&M Investments? She smiled to herself as she realised that with the right publicity whomever was behind the Home For Gifted Children could become as big a hero to the magical world as Harry Potter-Black. Maybe even bigger. This orphanage was about their future. The Battle of Hogwarts and the war against the Dark Lord was all in the past.

She decided that she needed to find out who was responsible for PP&M Investments. She figured she would need someone to gather that information for her, but she wasn't sure who could get her that information. Daphne felt that a walk around the ministry might help her figure out who could get her the information. Shortly after she left her office she ran into Percy Weasley. Daphne smiled as she walked up to the man who was often very helpful with all sorts of information, even beyond comparative cauldron bottom thicknesses.

"Percy," she called out. "Do you have a minute?"

Percy Weasley smiled and turned to speak with the cousin of his girlfriend, Silene. "Sure, Miss Greengrass, what can I do for you?"

Daphne thought to herself that at least some Weasley men knew how to behave in public.

"I am working on a project for the minister. He wants to have a concert, and he wants to recognise new heroes to our society at this concert," said Daphne. "Of course, the public would expect Potter to be honoured."

Percy frowned. "Of course," he said, his irritation evident in the tone of his response.

"But I was thinking, and I was sure that you, of all people, would agree, that we need to recognise _new_ heroes. People who are proper role models. Perhaps some of the professors at Hogwarts, perhaps others who have been helping out more recently than the war, after all, that was over five years ago," said Daphne.

Percy puffed his chest out as he prepared to respond to her. "Of course we should acknowledge the hard work of others, those who have actually been active in improving everything for all people."

Daphne smiled internally, not wanting Percy to know how satisfied she was in her manipulating him. "Well, it seems that there is this new orphanage for magical children who have lost their families. I have already looked into it, in fact, I have even volunteered there occasionally, however, what I do not know, and what is unknown, is just who is running this orphanage."

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard to find out," stated Percy.

"No, it shouldn't," said Daphne. "However, when I tried to find out who should be credited, or thanked, for all of their work and efforts, all I have been able to discover is that it is run by some sort of business, PP&M Investments. So far I have not been able to learn anything about this group. Who owns it? Who runs it? Where did they come from? What is their goal?"

Percy rubbed his chin. "That does seem mysterious, and perhaps a little disturbing."

"True, but if it is someone trying to help others, shouldn't they be honoured? If it is someone with some sort of ulterior motive, shouldn't that be brought to light?" Daphne lightly rubbed her eyes momentarily. "I just have not been able to learn anything more."

"Perhaps this requires someone who knows who to ask, and where to look," said Percy, with conspiratorial tone. "Let me ask around, I have some ideas of where to start. After all, I do have a brother who works for Gringotts."

Daphne raised her eyebrows, "Oh? Could you do that? Get that information for me?"

Percy stood a little taller after leaning towards Daphne with his previous statement. "Of course I would be delighted to do this for you."

Daphne smiled as Percy then turned and made his way off somewhere within the ministry.

"That was perhaps a little too easy," she said to herself.

* * *

P&P 9.3

* * *

Percy Weasley started his personal investigation into the matter of just who was behind PP&M Investments. The first bit of information he found was that the company was founded several years perviously, and only a filing of announcing the company was made with the Ministry of Magic. The only address listed for the business was a box at Gringotts. Percy was hoping to avoid dealing with the goblins as he didn't particularly like them, so he tried contacting some magical business lawyers, however, they all repeatedly rebuffed any of his inquiries. Determined to get some answers he made his way to the goblin run bank, and asked to speak to the account manager for PP&M Investments.

"And who is making this request, and why?" demanded the goblin teller.

Percy lifted his nose in the air and proclaimed, "I am Percy Weasley, assistant to Minister for Magic, and I need information about PP&M Investments, so I must speak with their account manager."

Percy raised an eyebrow. Did the goblin snort at him? Or was that a laugh? Percy was determined to get answers. "I am waiting, mister goblin."

"And you will keep waiting," said the teller. "You do not have an appointment. If you did, you would know which goblin you would be meeting with."

"You must let the account manager know that I need to speak with him!" said Percy, being a little more forceful with his words.

The goblin shook his head. "No wizard, we do NOT need to allow you to speak with anyone. You're not authorised."

"But I work with the Minister for Magic," protested Percy.

The goblin looked around the lobby then back at Percy. "And he isn't here. Good day sir."

"But," Percy tried to protest.

"I said, good day, sir," stated the goblin.

Percy grunted in frustration. As he turned to leave he saw his brother, Bill, was leaving the bank. Percy knew that it was near time for lunch, so he assumed his brother was taking his lunch break.

"William!" he called out to his brother.

Bill Weasley rolled his eyes, not caring if his brother saw his reaction. He waited for Percy to walk over to speak with him directly.

"Yes, Percy, what is it?" he asked, not caring if his frustration was evident in his voice.

"Bill, I need to learn who is behind PP&M Investments. They do not have any address other than here at the bank, and the goblins won't give me any more information," said Percy.

Bill tilted his head slightly. "And you're telling me this why?"

Percy puffed up his chest once again. "Because you can get me the information that I need."

"You're daft," said Bill, frowning at his brother. "I can't tell you anything, even if I knew anything."

Percy left Gringotts, frustrated that he had still made no progress in discovering who was behind PP&M Investments. He then simply wrote a message to the President of PP&M Investments, pointing out that the ministry wanted to honour them for their work with the orphans at an upcoming concert and the ministry would need to know who and how many would be attending to receive the honour.

Percy was surprised when the day before the concert he received a reply from PP&M Investments which simply stated that they respectfully declined the invitation as they were otherwise engaged.

There was no name or signature on the reply, only the letterhead from PP&M Investments.

Daphne looked over the letter, repeatedly. She even cast charms on it to identify who may have handled the letter, but she was not able to discover anything about who had sent it. At least they had invited the other honourees to the concert, even if whomever was running the mysterious PP&M Investments would neither identify themselves or show up to the concert.

* * *

P&P 9.4

* * *

Daphne Greengrass was not in a good mood leading up to the ministry planned concert to honour important witches and wizards within the British Isles. The Weird Sisters had broken up during the war, and many people within the Ministry of Magic just assumed that the concert would feature Celestina Warbeck, but at least Daphne had convinced the minister that would be a horrible idea if they wanted to reach young wizards and witches.

She was able to convince Kingsley Shacklebolt and certain members of the ministry that hiring two bands as the musical entertainment would work out better. As it turns out, the Weird Sisters had split up and the members had formed two new bands. After a legal argument over the band's name, one of the new bands chose to just use the name "The Weird" while the other band called themselves "Try Harder." There had briefly been another band, however with the name "Wingardium Leviosa" their fans would continually cast that spell at the stage when they performed and eventually all of their instruments were broken and the band members suffered too many injuries.

The two bands, however, had agreed to play. The opening of the evening would be a brief performance of Celestina Warbeck, however she was informed that she would only be performing two songs. That concession to allow her to be present seemed to mollify some of the members of the ministry.

Daphne had managed to negotiate with the two bands who would be performing, and she had managed to get the honourees to agree to be present, well, all of them other than the owner of PP&M Investments. The program was set, the Minister for Magic would present the honourees with a small plaque. Oliver Wood, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, and Poppy Pomfrey had all agreed to be there. The fact that Harry Potter, no, Lord Harry Potter-Black was included as one of the honourees still irritated her to no end. At least she wouldn't be involved with presenting the awards, however she had to greet them all at the auditorium that was being used for the event. An auditorium that, as it turned out, had been funded, in part, by PP&M Investments, which was one minor irritation for her as she was frustrated that she was never able to get any useful information about the business, nor could she get them to agree to participating in the event.

Daphne was finishing getting her hair ready for the going to the concert when Astoria came into her room.

"Looking good big sis," said Astoria with a cheery voice.

Daphne let out a loud gasp. "Ugh, nothing seems to be working right!"

"Here, let me help," offered the younger Greengrass.

Daphne sighed in resignation to her plight and allowed her sister to make a few quick adjustments to her hair.

"Now you look as beautiful as always," said Astoria.

Daphne turned and frowned at her sister. "Why do you have to be so happy? Oh, Longbottom finally came to his senses and is dating you again."

Astoria spun around in a circle. "And there is nothing wrong with that," she added. "So, who are you attending the concert with tonight?"

Daphne frowned again for a moment before forcing a smile. "I will be attending with my best friend, as if you didn't already know."

"And her fiancé," added Astoria.

"It's not like I will be spending much time with anyone if I were on a date," said Daphne, feeling like she had explained this already. "I have responsibilities. I will be greeting all the honourees and making sure they find their reserved seats."

"And once the music starts, you are free to do as you please," said Astoria, "like snog your non existent boyfriend."

"Prat," snapped Daphne as she lightly swatted her sister on the shoulder.

"Self important preoccupied older prat," replied Astoria with a playful swat in return.

"Unbearable little wench," said Daphne.

"Overbearing pretentious wench," said Astoria.

Daphne took a deep breath and looked her sister in the eyes. "Don't let Longbottom treat you like anything other than the princess you deserve to be."

"That's not hard," said Astoria wistfully, "considering he always treats me like a princess."

"Well, he better," said Daphne who reached out and caressed her sister's cheek. "He doesn't deserve you as his girlfriend after he essentially abandoned you earlier this year."

Astoria grasped her sisters hand and smiled in return. "He woke up and realised what he was missing, and he will not be forgetting it."

Daphne smiled and then cast a tempus charm. "I need to run! I can't be late!"

Daphne gathered a few things and then made her way to the floo. She called out to the Davis home and made her way through. A few minutes later Daphne with Tracy and Theo in tow arrived at the ministry auditorium entrance.

"You two can head in and find our seats, I'll catch up after I finish greeting the others," said Daphne.

Theo spoke up first. "No, no, we aren't in any rush. It's not like anyone will take our seats, so we'll just wait for you."

Daphne shook her head slightly and then pointed to an area behind the side entrance where they were waiting. "Well, then stand over there while I wait here for the honourees. They were all given instructions on where to arrive."

Tracey and Theo smiled and made their way over to where Daphne had indicated. Several ministry workers were busy running around making sure everything was ready. A minute later the first guest arrived, Oliver Wood. His robes were trimmed with the navy blue that matched the colours of the Puddlemere United uniforms, and he even had their emblem, the pair of golden bulrushes embroidered on the robes. He was accompanied by a thin but tall witch with light brown hair.

"Daphne Greengrass," Oliver said by way of greeting, "this is Karyn Deverill, publicity representative for Puddlemere United. Karyn, this is Daphne Greengrass, assistant to the Minister for Magic."

Daphne smiled at Karyn and greeted her politely. "So glad you could make it for the festivities tonight. We'll have you wait here for the others to arrive."

The couple stepped to the side and started to chat with Tracey and Theo. A couple of minutes later Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived with Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick. Daphne greeted the minister and the professors. "So glad you could make it, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. I had presumed that Madam Pomfrey would be accompanying you tonight as well."

Minerva McGonagall sighed slightly, "She was delayed slightly at the school. She should be joining us momentarily."

Flitwick spoke up next. "Miss Greengrass, it is wonderful to see you again. And it is wonderful to see one of my former students starting out with such a successful career. Your parents should be proud of what you have been able to do, all of this work for the minister."

Daphne smiled and tried to stop the blush from coming to her face. Before she could respond, Kingsley spoke up in agreement with the Charm's professors sentiments.

"Miss Greengrass has been a very valuable member of the staff, taking the responsibility for so many events over the past couple of years." He turned and gave a quick smile to his assistant. "No need to be embarrassed, you have been doing an exemplary job."

"Thank you sir," said Daphne.

"Sorry I am running late," called out the school healer as she arrived. Madam Pomfrey was dressed in her formal uniform from when she first completed her training as a medical-witch.

Kingsley Shacklebolt looked around and mentally counted who had already arrived. "I see that we are nearly all here, and we're just waiting on Lord Potter-Black."

Minerva flinched slightly at the title, still thinking of the young man as the little boy who came to Hogwarts without knowing anything about his heritage or the magical world - a time that was so long ago before he had endured so much.

Filius looked up at her and noted a little wetness forming on the edge of her eyes. "He is quite the accomplished young man, now, Minerva," he said softly.

Minerva sniffed slightly and steadied herself, quickly glancing around to make sure that no one else saw her momentarily loss of composure. "That he is," she said quietly in reply, "despite everything that we didn't do along the way to help him."

Filius was about to chastise her for berating herself once again when everyone turned to the entrance as a young couple walked in.

Harry Potter-Black was dressed in the finest acromantula silk robes with an emerald green trim. On his arm was a tall and beautiful witch with flowing hair that cascaded in shiny light brown waves.

"Ahh, Lord Potter-Black and Lady Cassandra Woodson have arrived," greeted the minister as he approached the couple, kissing the back of Cassandra's hand and then giving Harry a firm hand shake. "I'm glad you all could join us for this evening. This evening is for enjoying ourselves and for recognising the many contributions that you all have made to our society!"

Everyone in the group politely clapped at the minister's words, and Cassandra leaned her head on Harry shoulder.

Daphne was watching the display of affection the young lady was making and closed her eyes to help stop the nausea she was beginning to feel.

"Now, the concert is not scheduled to start for another thirty minutes," said Kingsley. "We will have some refreshments brought out for all of you and then Miss Greengrass will review the schedule for the evening."

Kingsley bowed his head slightly and then several tables appeared along one side of the room, and house elves quickly made sure that there were appetisers and a punch bowl set up with plates and cups appearing next.

Daphne stepped forward and began to explain the evening's schedule. "At 8 o'clock, the curtain will rise and the minister will head to the centre stage and announce the start of the evenings program. Celestina will then sing one of her songs and the minister will then announce all of the honourees, and when he calls your name, you will then walk out from the side entrance in the front of the hall and then up the stairs onto the stage. He will present you with your plaque and you will then move to the other side of the stage while he calls out the next honouree. Once everyone has received their plaques, a short message about each one of the recipients will be read, explaining why you have been chosen to be an honouree. Once the messages are finished, Celestina will sing her second song. Once she finishes the curtain will close, the lights will dim briefly, and then when the curtain rises the first band, "The Weird," will have taken the stage and they will perform their set of songs. Then once again the curtain will close momentarily and the stage will magically be reset and the second band, "Try Harder," will than perform their songs."

Kingsley stepped forward once again. "You are all invited to a special post concert celebration at the main foyer at the ministry, which will be by invitation or special passes only for others to attend. Those who have been invited received their magical special pass when they received their tickets for tonight's performance."

The group started to mingle and enjoy the refreshments, and Cassandra never let go of Harry's arm.

Oliver Wood made his way over to Harry, and introduced the woman who was with him to Harry. "Harry, this is Karyn Deverill, public relations manage for Puddlemere United. Karyn, Lord Harry Potter-Black, one of the most skilled seekers to ever fly a broom."

Harry shook his head slightly and smiled at Oliver's words. "Not quite that good, Oliver," said Harry with a smile. Then he inclined his head slightly to the witch on his right arm. "Oliver, Karyn, may I present to you the Lady Cassandra Woodson."

Cassandra smiled and gave a slight curtsy.

Harry continued, "She is cousins with a fellow Gryffindor, the Lord Neville Longbottom."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Working on maintaining family alliances, eh, Harry?"

"One can only hope," replied Cassandra demurely. She hugged Harry's arm a little tighter at that point.

Oliver and Karyn shared a look and then turned and smiled at Harry and Cassandra. Harry quickly understood the impression that was being made and he desperately wanted to say something to correct that misinterpretation, however the etiquette he had learned from his travels with Neville had impressed upon him the importance of not embarrassing any young woman.

Right about that time a flash went off. A reporter with a camera had snuck into the room they were in, snapped a picture of Harry and Cassandra, and then apparated away.

Oliver blinked his eyes and turned and stared at the empty space where the photographer had been then turned back to Harry and Cassandra. "You must get that a lot, photographers trying to get your picture."

Harry rubbed his eyes with his left hand briefly. "Well, actually, not too often usually. At least not since my solicitor had a simple meeting with the editor at the Daily Prophet."

A minute later, Daphne called all of the attendees together. "It will only be another minute, and then we begin. So, those who are here accompanying an honouree may go take their seats. Everyone else, please follow me to the area outside the door where we will wait until your names are called."

Harry nodded at Daphne as she passed by. Daphne stopped, deciding that she should at least play the appropriate and caring hostess.

"Good evening Lord Potter-Black, and Lady Woodson. Thank you once again for coming."

Harry bowed his head slightly in response. "It is an honour to be invited and to be considered with the rest of these distinguished honourees."

Cassandra smiled sweetly, "And it's an honour to be here with Harry." The she turned and kissed Harry's cheek.

Daphne fought the urge to vomit as well as the urge to slap the younger witch. She mustered the emotional stoicism that gave her a reputation of being an emotional ice queen as a student and managed to keep her visible reaction to a minimum. "Again, the ministry is pleased that everyone could be here for this evening's event." Then she turned and continued on her way.

Harry stepped away slightly from Cassandra and quietly said, "That was not necessary."

Cassandra simply shrugged and then continued to smile and reached out to take his arm once again.

Soon the concert was ready to begin, Cassandra and Karyn were shown to their seats and then the presentations began. Harry was relieved that the cheering seemed to him to be equal for everyone of the honourees and he did not have a different reception than the others.

After the concert had ended, Harry and the others were escorted to the foyer in the ministry for the after party. The gathering was larger than what Harry had expected based on what they had been told prior to the start of the concert, and Harry briefly wondered if everyone with a ticket also had an invitation to the party.

As he started to mingle with the guests, Cassandra continued to stay glued to his arm. Many members of the Wizengamot came by to congratulate Harry and to touch base with him on one issue or another. Harry was relieved when he spotted Neville and Astoria making their way over towards them.

"Cassandra, how nice to see you again," said Astoria.

"The same here, I'm sure," said Cassandra.

"This is nice," said Neville as he waved his arm around the hall. "A big party without you trying to make me the centre of attention for everyone. I think I'm actually enjoying myself."

"You're just enjoying yourself, Nev, because you have a smart and beautiful witch with you," said Harry, which resulted in Astoria blushing slightly.

She took a deep breath and smiled at Harry. Then turning to Cassandra she added, "Why don't we go find some refreshments, while these two catch up. I can tell they're about to start on some conversation that I'm sure the both of us will find _dreadfully_ boring."

Cassandra looked at Harry briefly who gave an encouraging nod, "Sure, Tori, sounds fun."

As the two women walked away Harry said quietly to Neville, "I didn't realise that those two were so familiar."

Neville frowned, "They're not. And I'm quite sure Astoria never gave Cassandra permission to shorten her name like that. Only her sister does that."

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that statement, and he was about to say something more when the voice of the Headmistress of Hogwarts got their attention.

"It is good to see such fine young men representing Gryffindor so well," said Minerva.

"Now, now, Minerva," chimed in Filius standing at her side, "the houses of Hogwarts do not need to continue to define people once that have graduated."

Minerva rolled her eyes, "Filius, I was simply trying to compliment the young men." Then she turned back to her former lions, "I would like to thank the both of you for all you have done, for the school, and for the wizarding world as a whole since the war ended."

"We haven't done that much," said Harry, trying to avoid attention.

"Oh, haven't you?" she said with a smile. "You do know that they all were students in my house years ago?"

Neville looked at Harry and noticed a slight blush creep into his cheeks.

She then looked at Harry and Neville, and realised that Harry was keeping his philanthropic work through PP&M Investments separate from his other actions in the Wizengamot. She pursed her lips and nodded slightly at Harry, "Well, then, I guess it remains our secret." She smiled as she and Flitwick moved on to speak to other guests.

Filius turned to Minerva as Harry and Neville went to speak with Tiberius Ogden. "PP&M Investments?"

Daphne was walking nearby when she heard her former charms professor mention the mysterious company that declined any participation in the evening's activity.

"PP&M Investments, they are the group that has been funding most of the repairs at the school. They paid for the new brooms for the flying classes and for the Quidditch teams," explained Minerva.

Filius nodded in understanding, "So, the legacy of those three will live on at the school, and in a good way."

Minerva smiled in response, "Yes, they were always a bright group, but some of their exploits blinded others to their talents and the care and concern they had for others. This is a way to make their legacy what it should have been."

"Oh, I can definitely see that," said Filius.

Minerva added with a conspiratorial concern, "I also understand that PP&M has been supporting St. Mungo's in addition to the orphanage that they established."

Daphne stopped herself from asking the headmistress anything further about PP&M. But it was clear that she, and Professor Flitwick, knew who was behind PP&M Investments, and it seemed that PP&M was doing more than just the orphanage. But she at least had it confirmed that PP&M referred to three former students. She also quickly deduced it wouldn't be the Golden Trio, as Weasley and Granger don't fit with Potter in the initials, and neither did Longbottom. Daphne decided to try and figure out who the three former students were who were now secretly running a powerful investment firm that was supporting almost every worthwhile charity in all of magical Britain.

Cassandra was being pleasant enough with Astoria as they had managed to get something to drink from the bar set up on one side of the large foyer. The two were making their way back to find Harry and Neville when Daphne came up to greet her sister.

"I hope that you and Neville enjoyed the concert," said Daphne, trying to ignore the presence of Cassandra.

Before Astoria could say anything, Cassandra spoke up. "Oh, we all had a wonderful time. You must have been so busy preparing everything for this event. It's a good thing you didn't have any distractions, like dating someone, that would have taken up any extra time."

Daphne turned slowly to look at Cassandra but couldn't stop rolling her eyes. Before she could say anything Harry and Neville had come up and joined them. Neville put his arm around Astoria and gave her a kiss to the side of her head and whispered "Missed you" to her but everyone easily overheard what he had said.

Cassandra slid next to Harry and leaned into his side. "Oh, there you are, Harry." She then slipped her left arm into his right arm as she turned and smiled at Daphne.

Before anyone said anything further another reporter appeared with a camera and took a picture of the two couples standing together. Daphne was about to verbally reprimand the photographer but they had quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd that was standing around.

Harry shook his head and turned to Neville. "This is getting old, very old. Even after everything my solicitor has said to the editors and the ways in which he has threatened them, they still don't leave us alone."

Neville shook his head, "It's not me, and it's not us, it's just you Harry. You and whomever might be on your arm."

Cassandra pouted slightly, "Oh, it will be okay. I just hope the shots of me show my good side."

* * *

**AN: The editing on this chapter may have been a bit rushed...**


	11. Chapter 10

P&P10

* * *

**November 2003**

The day after the concert, Harry sat at his dining table in his small apartment in London and stared at the pictures on the covers of both Witch Weekly and the Daily Prophet. Pictures from the night before of Harry and Cassandra together. There were articles speculating how long they had been dating, and others predicting upcoming wedding ceremonies and still more that suggested that Harry was just having another one of his many short flings like he did when he and Neville Longbottom had travelled around the Continent.

Kreacher popped into the room, almost startling Harry who was disgusted with the newspaper in front of him.

"Master has an appointment today with his godson," said the house elf.

Harry threw the paper down and cast a quick tempus charm. "Damn," he muttered to himself. "Thanks, Kreacher, I'll go get ready and then pick up Teddy. I had promised to take him by the orphanage today, he always likes playing with the other kids."

A few minutes later Harry had arrived via the floo at Andromeda Tonks' home. He called out to her, announcing his presence, despite knowing that the wards had most likely already done that.

Harry heard Andromeda call back to him and then he heard the thundering of small feet as a five year old boy shot his way across the room and into his arms.

"Hey Harry! You said we could go play with all of those other kids today!" said an overly excited Teddy Lupin.

"Of course I did, squirt, and here I am. Are you ready yet?"

Teddy Lupin smiled broadly. "Of course I am!"

Andromeda Tonks, the young boy's grandmother walked into the room. "Not until you clean up your room young man."

"But Uncle Harry is here!" he protested.

"And Uncle Harry will still be here when you finish," said Andromeda sternly. "You will have more time with your uncle the quicker you get that room straightened up."

"I'll be waiting right here for you squirt," said Harry as he put the boy down. "I bet you can clean up your room quicker today than the last time."

Teddy's eyes widened. "I bet I can too!" Then he ran out of the room towards his bedroom.

"He so loves the days when you take him on these little adventures, Harry," said Andromeda with a smile. "He so looks up to his godfather. He doesn't see you as the hero that the rest of the magical world sees. He sees you as his own personal hero."

Harry rubbed his chin and looked down at the floor. "I'm not his hero. I'm his godfather and not a very good one at that. I haven't been taking care of him, I haven't been raising him. Moony and your daughter, they named me his godfather. And I've failed them."

Andromeda's face became stern. "You stop that right now, Harry. We've been over this, countless times. When the war ended, you were still 17. Just what the hell would you have done with an infant boy? You needed to grow up. And don't give me that look or your sorry excuses. Augusta Longbottom made sure that you and her grandson learned the things that Dumbledore didn't think you would ever need. You were never prepared to be an adult wizard. Dumbledore prepared you to die first. But you didn't. You needed to grow up and to learn about your family, about our world and about how to manage everything that you own and are responsible for."

"But I should be responsible for Teddy," said Harry.

"The responsible thing to do is what you are doing," said Andromeda. "He is _my_ family, _my_ grandson. I lost everything in the war, Ted, Nymphodora, and a caring if not pigheaded son-in-law in Remus. I am _not_ giving up on my grandson. What do you know about godfather's anyway? My cousin was a pitiful example of one, and he was yours. No, Harry, you're doing just fine. Teddy knows you, he looks up to you, he loves you. You don't have to be here everyday, you are _not_ his father."

She held up a hand to stop Harry's interruption. "We've discussed this before as I have said. Be his famous uncle, his godfather. The one who shows up to make sure he has an exciting day every once in a while. For now, that is taking him to play with kids at the orphanage. When he is older, I expect you will be teaching him magic. Hell, you'll probably be teaching him about pranking others when he finally attends school at Hogwarts. But don't beat yourself up about not raising him as your son. And don't deprive me of the one joy I have left in this life."

Harry sighed, relenting to Andromeda's little tirade at him, just as Teddy came running back into the room.

"Done already, squirt?" asked Harry.

"You bet!" squealed Teddy as Harry began to tickle him.

"Alright then, little buddy," said Harry. "Let's go meet up with the other kids." Harry held Teddy tight and then apparated away to the orphanage.

"I'm sure there is no way his room is cleaned up in that short amount of time," Andromeda said to herself as she smiled watching those two disappear.

* * *

P&P 10.2

* * *

Harry and Teddy arrived at the outskirts of the orphanage, and then walked up to the main entrance. Harry knocked on the door and was greeted by one of the workers.

"Lord Potter-Black, how kind of you to come by again."

"Oh, shut it, Mariah, you know I come here at least once a month with Teddy, and I've told you just to call me Harry," he added with a smile.

Mariah smiled back at Harry. "Right you have. And no, I didn't tell the kids that you were bringing Teddy by today, because I didn't want to get their hopes up and then have you not make it because of something important coming up with you and all your work."

"Nothing is more important than my time with Teddy and coming by to see these kids," said Harry.

Teddy was pulling on Harry's arm. "Come on, Uncle Harry, we need to go find the others. We need to go play."

Mariah smiled at them, "Better hurry, _Harry_, you can't keep them waiting any longer."

A few minutes later Harry was outside with Teddy and about six other children from the home, playing a version of tag.

Daphne Greengrass arrived for her usual Saturday morning of volunteering with the children at the orphanage. As she walked in, she was greeted by Mariah.

"Oh, Miss Greengrass, I wasn't expecting you this week, it is the second Saturday of the month."

"I know, Mariah," said Daphne with a smile, "but I couldn't make it last week. I thought I had sent you a note stating that I would come today instead. I do plan on coming next week, as usual."

"First and third Saturdays," said Mariah nodding. "Oh, that's right, I did see the note. It just must have slipped my mind, things have been so busy around here," she added with a slight laugh. "Did you have something in mind today?"

"I was thinking of baking some biscuits with some of the older children," said Daphne. "I know, I know, house elves usually do that sort of thing. But I enjoyed helping out our house elf in the kitchen occasionally. And kids usually have fun with baking."

"And licking the batter out of the bowls," said Mariah with another laugh.

Daphne looked around as she and Mariah walked through the manor towards the kitchen area. "I don't see the younger children."

"Oh, they are probably outside playing. Harry, I mean, Lord Potter-Black often comes by, with his godson, and the two of them will play with the children who are about his age."

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "Harry, I mean, Lord Potter-Black has a godson?" She tried to remember if she had read anything about this before.

"Oh yes," said Mariah. "He, Teddy, is also an orphan from the war. He is being raised by his grandmother, but Harry does make time for little Teddy. Brings him by here so he has some friends and playmates. After all, they _all_ have lost their parents due to the war."

Daphne nodded in response to the matron. "Well, yes, that might be good for all of them."

"Particularly so for Lord Potter-Black," said Mariah. "Let me go round up the kids who want to help you in the kitchen, dear." With that, Mariah spun around and walked away.

Daphne did a quick survey of the kitchen and then she looked out the large window that opened up to the gardens out back. She raised an eyebrow as she saw Harry, no, Lord Potter-Black, running around in circles with a group of children who all looked to be about 4 to 6 years in age. He fell onto the ground and the group all jumped on top of him. She could make out the sounds of laughter and happy squeals from the group. The children then started to roll off of Harry and he then rolled over onto his hands and knees. The children then jumped on his back and climbed on top of him as Harry started to walk around on all fours. Daphne didn't realise a smile had formed on her lips as she watched the scene before her.

Daphne was startled from the sound of the matron's voice, having not heard her walk back into the kitchen. "It is a joy to watch them all play, isn't it?" said Mariah.

Daphne spun around and faced the matron, trying to mask her features. "Oh, yes, yes it looks like they're all having just a marvellous time out there."

Mariah smiled at Daphne's response. "The children will be here in just a minute. One of the house elves working here will help you get everything you need. Miri, please come help Miss Greengrass."

"Hello, Miss Greengrass," said the house elf as she appeared in front of Daphne. "I am the kitchen elf. I will let you work with the children in here, as it may be fun for them. Just let me know what you will need today."

Daphne smiled at Miri. "Why, thank you for letting me work here." She then looked at Mariah, "This should be interesting."

Mariah smiled and walked away as several children ran into the kitchen, excitedly talking about biscuits and other treats.

Daphne enjoyed working with the children in the kitchen. More than a couple of times Miri appeared and stopped Daphne from making a mistake with the recipe. "Miss Daphne needs to pay attention to the making and not to the playing outside."

Daphne frowned, hoping that the children hadn't noticed her occasionally spying out the window at Harry Potter-Black and the other kids.

One of the kitchen helpers spoke up. "It's okay, Miss Daphne, sometimes we would rather play outside too, but we don't get to make biscuits very often."

One of the girls spoke up next, "Maybe she thinks Mister Harry is cute."

At that statement, she placed her hand on her face, only to cover her face in flour. This made all of the children laugh at her which became infectious and Daphne laughed at her own expense.

Soon they had the biscuits in the oven to bake and Daphne had already cleaned up from her little accident. The children were telling stories as they sat around the counter in the kitchen, waiting on the biscuits. Daphne stole a glance out the window but didn't see the children playing outside anymore.

Harry and the ones he had been playing with had come back inside. Teddy was pouting a little about the end of their playing together. Harry knelt down and spoke to Teddy. "We already told Grandma Andi that we would be making her dinner tonight, lasagna. So we need to go to the store and get everything and then go make it for her."

"Can't we make it here?" asked Teddy.

Harry stood up and looked down the hall, seeing a group of children sitting in the kitchen. "It looks like someone else is already using the kitchen," said Harry. Before he turned back to look at Teddy, the woman sitting at the counter in the kitchen turned and looked up at him.

Harry was startled to find himself staring at Daphne Greengrass. He had a puzzled look on his face, as he thought that this was the second Saturday and he was surprised to see her here, as he was aware that she usually came on the first and third Saturdays each month.

Daphne, seated at the kitchen counter looked up and down the hall, having the feeling that someone was looking at her. Her eyes met up with those of Harry Potter and for a moment she couldn't look away. The two stared at each other as Harry put a coat on his godson and then put his own cloak over himself.

Teddy continued to pout about having to leave. "But I want to have lasagna with my friends, too."

Harry broke his gaze from Daphne and looked back at Teddy. "I tell you what, how about we make a whole bunch of lasagna at home, but then bring some of it back here for everyone else."

Teddy's eyes lit up. "And Grandma Andi can come with us and have lasagna here!"

"As long as that is okay with Mariah," said Harry

* * *

P&P 10.3

* * *

Daphne Greengrass returned home from her day at the orphanage, wondering why Harry Potter-Black had been there as well. Yes, she had learned from Mariah that his godson had been orphaned during the war, and Harry, who also had been orphaned as everyone in magical Britain knew, was trying to provide opportunities for his godson to interact with other children. But did the arrogant war hero turned rich pompous jerk actually have a heart or compassion for others? She closed her eyes and decided that she really didn't want to think about that.

She then noted there was a message waiting for her. Tracey and Theo were planning on going to another one of Potter's manor houses turned into an educational location. She was surprised that Theodore Nott actually wanted to go to the one that was set up to teach magical people about the muggle world.

This should be interesting, she thought to herself. Of course she wouldn't want to miss that. The note indicated that they would be going the following weekend, and Daphne smiled to herself, grateful that she could immerse herself back in her work before heading back to another one of Potter's properties, even if it did sound intriguing to her. Daphne sent off a quick note to Tracey pointing out that she wouldn't be available on Saturday, as she had prior commitments, but could they meet up on Sunday for this particular outing.

The following Sunday, Daphne met up with Tracey and Theo, and the group of them met at the ministry and from there they flooed to the foyer of the manor house that had been set up as a History of Muggle Technology.

"I've heard Potter has really worked hard at presenting both the history of magic and the history of muggle technology with his projects," said Theo.

"Probably just bored with not having another party celebrating his fame," said Daphne with a sneer.

Theo laughed at Daphne's comment, until he received an elbow in his ribs.

Tracey frowned at her best friend. "I thought you said he has a heart. That you saw him at the orphanage playing with his godson and some other kids."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "One play date does not a hero make."

Theo furrowed his brow. "But the magical world already sees him a hero."

"What they don't see is that he is an arrogant self righteous Gryffindor who looks down on those who weren't in his house," snapped Daphne.

Theo shrugged his shoulders at her comment. "Well, if that is how he is around you, he seems to do a pretty good job of portraying a very different persona to the rest of the magical world, including the press."

Tracey sighed and pulled on both Theo's and Daphne's arms. "Enough, already. Regardless if he is a ponce or a polite hero, he did set this up, and I for one, am interested in learning more about the muggle world than we ever learned at Hogwarts."

"Don't you already know about all of this?" asked Daphne. "You are a half-blood."

"Never really had much exposure to the muggle world," admitted Tracey. She then let go of their arms but continued to lead the way. They walked into a room that had displays and information about airplanes. Starting with a magical moving picture of the Wright Brothers first flight, there was a series of displays that showed the progress of muggle aviation.

A display that tried to explain the difference between propellers and jet engines was confusing at best to the trio. Then there was a display that explained the vapour trails in the sky that were left behind by jet airliners.

Tracey found the information entertaining and educational, but Theo was the one who was the most surprised.

"So, their fastest way to travel from one place to another is by getting in one of these big jets that can carry over a hundred people," said Theo looking at the various models of airplanes on display.

"Faster than going by automobile or train or boat," said Tracey.

As they turned a corner, Tracey saw a group of people standing near one display. "Is that Flint over there?" she asked, clearly surprised that such a staunch pure-blood family would come to the muggle history museum.

"They are cousins to Marcus Flint's immediate family," said Theo by way of explanation.

As the trio approached the Flint family, it became clear that someone had been kneeling down in front of one of the young children as they were explaining something to the family.

Daphne's eyes opened wide when she saw that Harry Potter was carefully explaining how an airplane works to a young witch who would have been no more than four years old, while pointing out features on a model he was holding in his hand.

"Wow, look at that," said Tracey as she observed the scene in front of her. "Potter, carefully explaining something to a little tyke. And one from a Death Eater family, no less."

Daphne scowled in response to her friend's comments.

When Harry had finished his short explanation to the young girl, she exclaimed an excited "Wow!" and then gave him a hug in thanks. Her parents smiled pleasantly and then they turned to head into another room. Harry looked up and saw Daphne Greengrass and the soon to be married Notts. He smiled at the as he stood up and welcomed them.

"So, welcome, welcome," he said as he shook first Theo's hand then went to kiss the knuckles on both of Tracey and Daphne's hands. Daphne was hesitant to extend her hand to him, and only did so after Tracey kicked her in the ankle.

Theo spoke up first, "So, Potter, it seems that you have been making yourself busy in your own special way." He then waved his hand around, vaguely pointing at different areas within the manor. "First the magical history museum, and now this muggle history thing."

"History of muggle technology," corrected Harry with a smile.

Tracey spoke up next. "Why? Why are you doing this, any of this?"

Harry could see her smile and could detect a genuine curiosity in her tone, and did not feel any animosity in her words. He smiled and then replied. "Why? Because no one has bothered to do it right, either way. The day I found out that I was a wizard when Hagrid burst into the small house my muggle relatives were hiding in, I was astonished and amazed. The only magical history I was told on that day was that my parents were killed by some dark wizard named 'You Know Who' and that they were not killed in a drunken car crash. I was whisked away to Diagon Alley, and was amazed by many of the things I saw, but I didn't understand a thing. I didn't understand what was meant when Malfoy offered me a hand in friendship on the train to Hogwarts. What I knew of the house system was what Hagrid and Ron Weasley told me. Gryffindor is good and Slytherin only produces evil wizards. Which is so much a crock of…" Harry stopped himself from saying anything more.

"Well, anyway, those who are not raised in the magical world have no idea about magical traditions, magical history, why they all dress so funny," said Harry. "When wearing wizard robes it is easier to move and cast magic than typical muggle fashion from the late 1800s and early 1900s. That is why the style of dress has changed little in over a hundred years. But no one teaches that to anyone."

Tracey's eyes went wide with the amazing amount of information that Harry had just dumped on them, while Daphne simply crossed her arms and glared at the floor in front of her. Theo, for his part, nodded slightly at his words. "So, muggle born students don't get a very clear picture of just what they are being brought into when they get their letter."

"Exactly my point," said Harry.

"You expect us to believe that you knew nothing about the magical world until you received your letter for Hogwarts?" Daphne's question was direct and harsh.

Harry shook his head slightly in response to the question that felt more like an attack. "Considering I was all of fifteen months old when my parents were murdered by Riddle, and then I was left in a basket on the steps of my aunt and uncle's house in the middle of the night, and they refused to tell me anything about my parents other than lies, and then tried to prevent me from even receiving my letter from Hogwarts, how exactly was I supposed to learn anything about the magical world? Or did you actually read and believe the pitiful books written about my supposed adventures as a child?"

Theodore Nott sent a glare towards Daphne and then turned back to Harry. "So, these airplane things, they can really take hundreds of people half way around the world?"

"Yes, they can. There even used to be one that was fast enough to travel from London to New York City in a matter of a couple of hours, but they stopped flying that jet about 2 years ago." Harry smiled as he answered Theo's question.

"I heard that the Americans claim that they sent someone to the moon," said Tracey.

"Yes, yes they did," said Harry. "If you follow me we can go to the room on space exploration. The Russians, or the former Soviet Union, were the first to send someone into space. Then there was an unspoken competition between them and the United States on who could develop a space craft and get a man to the moon. The US, though their group called NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, they send a ship to the moon in July 1969. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. They had to wear these special space suits," Harry paused as they came into the room and he started to point out some of the pictures. "Like this, this big white puffy suit and they had to have oxygen with them as there is not a real atmosphere there so they couldn't breathe if they didn't have all of this equipment."

The group watched a spaceship launch on a television screen.

"I thought that muggle photos couldn't move," said Theo.

"That's a video being shown on a television. Muggles developed movies, a way to take a picture of action, and then they developed a way to record sound with the movie pictures. Initially they would show these movies on large screens at movie theatres, then the television was invented. Many television shows were created. The muggles would broadcast them over airwaves, like the wireless, and people could watch these shows in their own homes. They made news shows, shows for entertainment, and even movies. Then more channels became available. Then they developed a way to use a cable, a wire, to send more stations, more movies and videos and shows, to people's homes. They still make movies and show them on large screens at movie theatres. Some of the movies are quite fanciful, depicting people fighting dragons and such. Some are made up stories of people travelling in outer space, some are even stories about people using magic."

"Magic? But how could muggles know about magic with the Statutes of Secrecy and all of that?" Tracey voiced what everyone else was thinking.

"For many years, hundreds, if not thousands of years, muggles have written stories, fairy tales, about people using magic. Many of their stories those who use magic are evil people. They have stories they read about Merlin. Probably much of their stories started from before the Statutes of Secrecy. The muggles can be pretty creative when it comes to writing fiction, stories that are made up. Sometimes these stories are made into movies. The use technology to make special effects, to make things seem real in the movies. They have ways to make people look like different races, like they may have come from another planet. They can make it look like someone is flying a ship through space. They can make people look really big or really small." Harry paused, "muggles can watch these movies at home on their television sets. Television sets are bigger now, and they can watch more and more things there. They can learn about things happening on the other side of the world. They can watch events happen on the other side of the world. A few years ago, there was an attack in New York City, some people were mad at the United States and they made some of their big airplanes crash into the two tallest buildings there. The buildings collapsed. Thousands of people died. People watched some of it happening all around the world."

"That sounds awful," said Tracey.

"The muggles show good things and bad things on their television. One of the most famous comedy groups is from here in England. They used to have a television show and they made several movies. One of the movies they made, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is considered one of the funniest movies ever made," said Harry.

"Who is Monty Python?" asked Theo.

"Monty Python isn't a person, it was the name of the group that made the comedy shows and movies. The Holy Grail movie was about King Arthur. It made things seem very silly. But lots of people enjoyed watching it."

"So the muggles can make these movies, they can go to the moon, all of that sounds impressive. But I thought I heard that they have wars and things. You mentioned someone attacked New York City a few years ago," said Tracey.

"Well, they have become very advanced in the way they can fight each other," said Harry, his tone becoming very sombre. "They have long rang missiles, like bombs, that can sent from one country to another very far away. They have planes that can launch these missiles, and they have submarines, special boats that can go around underwater in the ocean, and not be seen, and these can launch these dangerous missiles. They have bombs, atomic bombs, that can create a big enough explosion that they can destroy an entire city with one explosion. They have guns that can shoot people from a very long ways away. They have things that can make an overpowered bombarda spell look like it was nothing. Just because the muggles don't have magic does not mean that the magical world can beat them in a fight. When Grindelwald was fighting for control of magical Europe, there was what the muggles call World War II. Germany and a few other countries it controlled was fighting the rest of Europe. The Unites States sent over troops of soldiers and such to help the fight. At the same time there was fighting in the Pacific Ocean between the Japanese and the Americans. They fought on islands and in giant boats in the sea. The muggles have guns that can fire many bullets very quickly. Witches and wizards don't really have good ways to protect themselves from a full scale muggle military attack if one should ever happen."

"So, what the Death Eaters were doing, attacking one or two families at a time," said Theo, his voice trailing off.

"Might have gone without much obvious notice from the muggles, they would have blamed unknown criminals. But if it kept going on a larger scale, the muggle authorities would have become aware and they would defend themselves completely." Harry waited to see the three of them consider the implications of what he had said.

* * *

P&P 10.4

* * *

Percy Weasley was growing increasingly anxious. He felt himself to be quite the lucky young wizard to be dating a beautiful young witch like Silene Dedworth. However, he was worried about her family's background. Her father had been a known as a Death Eater supporter, and had been known to support the agenda of the blood purists within the Wizengamot. Her family had a long line of Slytherins, and she herself had been sorted into Slytherin. Whereas he came from a family with a long history of being sorted into Gryffindor. He was sure that his parents, or at least his mother would not be happy with him for being with a Slytherin. But Percy reasoned to himself that he was not dating her family, but the beautiful young witch, who looked at him in a way that Penelope never did.

His family never really followed wizarding pure-blood traditions. And particularly not when it came to marriage. He also knew that his mother never approved of his older brother marrying Fleur, whose family was light sided, and opposed Tom Riddle and the Death Eaters. But Fleur was different, she wasn't English, she wasn't if fully human. So he was worried that his mother would not accept his marrying a Slytherin.

Percy knew he needed to do something to ensure his future with the woman he was falling in love with. If his family would object to his being with Silene and if Silene's family would object to her being with him, then he would have to find a way to get together with her without the involvement of either family. He then found a small village in northern England that had a church that would apparently perform quick weddings. Percy went to the office of the Minister for Magic to request time off for the upcoming week. When questioned by the clerk at the office, Percy stated that he had a sudden meeting scheduled in a muggle village. Now he just needed to speak with Silene and get her to agree to his plan.

* * *

**AN: So, clearly Percy = Wickham, and Silene = Lydia...**


	12. Chapter 11

P&P11

* * *

**January 2004**

Harry Potter had heard some disturbing news, that Percy Weasley had run off with Silene Dedworth, without her parents permission or approval. Silene, was however, an adult witch. The Dedworth family held very traditionalist views within the magical society. There were rumours that they supported Voldemort and the Death Eaters, although none of the family members were ever shown to have taken the Dark Mark themselves. As the family was closely related to the Greengrass family, who were known for being more grey than dark, both families had many years of affiliation with Slytherin House when they were students, and the idea of someone running off with another without establishing a betrothal contract or a marriage contract would not be tolerated within traditional wizard families.

Harry had learned about what had happened after he had been called to a meeting of the new alliance that was meeting at Ogden's home. Harry had arrived early and found that Cyrus Greengrass was pacing outside of the manor. Lord Greengrass seemed to be quite upset about something. Harry coughed slightly to get the attention of the other wizard.

"What seems to be bothering you, sir?" asked the young wizard.

Cyrus spun around and faced Harry. At first he simply grumbled, then he rubbed his forehead as he closed his eyes tight. "Very well, you may not be family, but we are creating an alliance together, and you have been working on supporting our traditions, or at least educating people about them, even if you don't choose to follow them."

Harry felt puzzled by this brief explanation, but he calmly waited to hear more from Lord Greengrass.

Seeing as the young man standing in front of him was quietly waiting for more of an explanation, he added, "I just was informed by my wife that her niece, Silene Dedworth, has apparently run off with the wizard she had been dating. One of those Weasleys. That family never cared for traditions, but to just run off like that, well, it is nothing short of a scandal."

Harry rubbed his chin as he considered what Cyrus was telling him. "As I recall, she had been dating Percy Weasley, who had been the one Weasley who seemed to truly be willing to follow the traditions of the magical world. He at least has been dedicated to the ministry, regardless of whether or not it was acting for the good of magical people or not. And he was always a stickler for details and following the rules."

"Well, the young man sure isn't following any traditions or any rules," complained Cyrus. "My wife is trying to console her sister right now. And I wouldn't be surprised if my brother in law wasn't about to form a vigilante group and track the fool down and explain to him the Dedworth family's views on tradition, and also on violating them."

Harry tensed at those words. "Sir, if you would, please contact your brother-in-law. Give me some time, a day or two, and I will find Percy Weasley and see if I can talk sense into him."

"I will see what I can do, but I can not guarantee that he will be appeased, even for a brief period of time," answered Cyrus. "Also, I know how their family is, they would not want any news of this reaching the public, and definitely not the press."

"I will endeavour to be as discreet as I can," said Harry. "However, if time is of the essence, then perhaps I should leave now. If you would kindly excuse my absence from this meeting for me, I would much appreciate it."

With that, Harry made his way to leave.

* * *

P&P11.2

* * *

Harry quickly apparated to London, and from there he made his way to the Ministry of Magic. Using his connections and his fame, he was able to meet up with Minister Shacklebolt. After giving a quick explanation to Kingsley about what he needed, it only took a few minutes before he had the address of an inn that Percy Weasley had reportedly made reservations for himself and another person. As Harry made arrangements to travel there, he was hoping that he would be able to find some way to diffuse the situation.

Harry arrived in the village square, and across from the town meeting hall was a statuesque old inn. Harry made his way across the street, wondering what he would say once he made it to the desk. Then he noticed to his right was Percy Weasley and the young Silene walking along the street, wearing fancier robes than Harry had ever seen him wear before.

Harry headed over to the side walk so as to intercept the two on their way towards the inn, which is where Harry assumed they were heading.

Harry stepped onto the side walk and then spun around to come face to face with a startled Percy and Silene.

"Harry!" exclaimed Silene.

"Potter?" questioned Percy. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Percy, I came to have a little chat with you about what you are doing here," stated Harry, his hands on his hips, making himself a wider barrier preventing the two from continuing on to their destination.

"I don't think that would be any business of yours," snapped Percy.

Silene put a hand to her mouth, "Oh dear, my mum, my parents, they must be upset." She then turned to Percy, "I told you, they would not be happy. They like the traditions! They support the traditions! They expect me to follow the traditions!"

Percy scoffed at Silene's words. Then he turned to Harry, "I still fail to see what brings _you_ here."

"I am here to speak with you," said Harry. "I have become friends with Lord Greengrass. I don't think I need to remind you that the Lord Greengrass is a _prominent_ member of the Wizengamot, a leader within the magical business world, and not to mention, oh, but I just did, he is Silene's _uncle_."

Silene was becoming more anxious, and Harry turned to speak with her. "Now, Miss Dedworth, why don't you have a seat over at the inn, while I have a little chat with Percy, here."

Silene had a worried look on her face.

Percy took a deep breath, then spoke to her gently. "Why don't you do as Potter here suggests. I won't be long and rest assured, Potter isn't about to do anything that would hurt me." Then he turned to face Harry and quickly added, although more quietly, "You're not threatening to hurt me, are you? You're a lord, of two houses. That would look bad."

"Relax Percy," said Harry, trying not to laugh at the man in front of him. "I said I am here to speak with you. That is all."

Percy let out a breath then turned back to Silene. "See, I told you, we will be fine. Now, run along and I will catch up with you shortly."

Silene looked back and forth between the two wizards then leaned in towards Percy and offered her cheek for a quick kiss. Then she gave Harry a smile and a slight curtsy and made her way over towards the inn.

Harry then took Percy by the elbow and walked him the other way along the side walk. "Now, Percy, I need to understand some things. Why would you do this to her, to Silene? Why not have a proper betrothal, or marriage? Why run off and elope? Have you even gotten married? Here, in a muggle village?"

"Its a nice little village," replied Percy defensively.

"I don't care if it was more romantic and picturesque than Paris in the spring and you had a hundred doves and one thousand roses, you haven't answered my question," said Harry. "You _know_ her family, and you know _their_ view on things. Do you want her cast out of her family because you became a little hormonal and chose to act on that?"

Percy's face flushed, then he became indignant at Harry's words.

"You, you are not the one to talk," said Percy. "You went against the traditionalists when you fought the Death Eaters."

"I did not fight against magical society's traditions," corrected Harry. "I fought against evil wizards and witches. They were misguided and claimed to be fighting for their traditions, but they didn't even understand their own traditions. And they were blinding following a murderous maniac who would just as soon torture and kill one of his own followers as you or me. No, you can't hide behind that."

Percy sighed. Then he kicked a stone with his right foot, wincing in pain as he hurt his toe on the small rock.

"Fine, you want to know what I do and why I do it? I have no money, I have nothing I come from a pathetic and poor family. I am currently in a dead end job at the Ministry. My association with Minister Fudge from before the war has hurt _any_ real chance I have at advancing within the ministry. I am not an heir, or a lord. I am the third son of a poor family that does not keep to the traditions of the magical world. I have nothing to inherit. And she, Silene, and to make this one thing clear, yes I do love her, but she is from a _Slytherin_ family, an old family. She is the spawn of a Death Eater. She is from a family that follows tradition and _never_ would have given me their blessing, or even considered an offer for a marriage contract or a betrothal. I have _nothing_ to offer them. We care about each other, not about the traditions, not about what house we were sorted into at Hogwarts, not about whose side our families chose during the last war. And I didn't want to lose her. And yet, you would defend them, her family, in spite of everything that the Death Eaters and Voldemort did to you."

"Well, I must say, that was a more honest and heartfelt answer than I ever expected to hear from you, Percy," said Harry as he nodded slightly.

"Well, thank you, I think," said Percy. There was a minute of silence, followed by Percy fidgeting then asking Harry a question."So, Potter, what would you have me do, now that you've exposed me?"

Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair. "I would have you leave the woman alone, but apparently I may be too late for that. I would have you not ruin her reputation."

"But I have no money, I cannot afford to woo her in a traditional sense," said Percy. "Her family would not choose me if they had any say in anything."

"Percy, I may be able to help," said Harry as he thought things through. "Your biggest problem right now, other than the Dedworth family and their reaction, is, according to your own words, your position at the ministry. I may be able to make things a little easier on you. I may be able to create an opportunity for you, that would allow you to pursue this all in a way that is acceptable to her family and to you."

Percy tilted his head, wondering where Harry was going with his statement. "What can you do?"

"I can speak with the Minister for Magic," said Harry. "Perhaps we need a new liaison with the International Congress of Wizards. You do have an understanding of international magical policy, do you not?"

Percy's eyes widened at that suggestion. "Well, yes, I do. But why? Why would you do this? You hate my family. What is in this for you? What do I need to do?"

Harry sighed heavily at Percy's comments. "First of all, I do _not_ hate you or your family. Just because Ginny and I did not work out as a couple, and that ended over five years ago, it does not mean that I have anything against your family. Your parents, your family, did more for me in my early years at Hogwarts, no, throughout all of my years at Hogwarts than anybody else. I will always be grateful for what they did. Ron, well, Ron has created his own problems by trying to live off the fame he had from our adventures. He is the one who resents being famous mostly for being my friend, something he wasn't at all upset about during our years at Hogwarts."

Percy nodded slowly as he listened to Harry.

"However, as to why I would do this for you? Because it is the _right_ thing to do," stated Harry. "Now, if you make things right with her family, and don't go through with a muggle wedding…"

Percy gulped hard and his eyes grew large.

Harry smacked himself in his forehead. "Okay, if you can make things right with her family by having a magical betrothal and wedding, which they still probably won't be happy about, but they may be more accepting of that situation…then taking the position working at the ICW might be best for everyone."

"How would that make things better?" asked Percy.

"It would make things better for you by keeping you away from the Dedworth and Greengrass families, who are all more than a little upset with you," explained Harry. "While you are making things better, they would probably need some time to cool off. Besides, you would probably make a significant amount more money as the liaison to the ICW then you do as a clerk running around as a glorified errand boy at the ministry. Assistant to the minister? You haven't been close to that position since Fudge was run out of office."

"Fine, fine," said Percy. "I'll speak with Silene. If she is okay with our moving away, and postponing the wedding, then I will do it. But I need to run it by her. Oh, and, what if her parents refuse to accept this proposal, this betrothal? What then?"

"That we will have to deal with if and when it happens," said Harry, hoping that admitting that he didn't have all the answers wouldn't ruin the opportunity to salvage the day.

The two wizards then made there way over to the inn to speak with the young witch. Harry explained to her about her family's reaction to their running off for a muggle wedding. Then he explained the plan to appease the family and get Percy a better job. Silene was so excited that she would be able to be reunited with her family made her jump up and give Harry a hug.

Harry recommended that the couple make arrangements to meet with her parents. In the mean time, he would return to speak with her uncle and explain the new plan.

* * *

P&P11.3

* * *

Harry arrived back at the Ogden manor as the meeting for the alliance was coming to an end. He made his apologies for missing the meeting as he walked in.

Ogden shrugged slightly as he replied, "Lord Greengrass told us you had an unexpected emergency to deal with. No worries, but we will leave it to him to fill you in on what you missed."

Harry accompanied Cyrus as they made their way to leave the meeting, and the two apparated to Greengrass Manor. Once they had made their way to Cyrus' study, Harry explained what he had done. How he had confronted the couple and how he would be making arrangements for Percy to get a position within the ministry working for the ICW. The couple would agree to a magical wedding, while not being the ideal circumstances of events from the perspective of Silene's family, their going away to the continent and representing the ministry there would deflect much, if not all, of the criticism over the perception of ignoring tradition while having a more respected position in the eyes of many pure blood traditionalists.

Cyrus agreed that it sounded like a good plan, although he was concerned about Harry's ability to pull off arranging for the job for Percy. He was well aware that with Harry's connection with the Minister for Magic and his political clout and position as the Boy Who Lived should make it relatively simple for Percy to actually receive the assignment but that didn't mean that the Ministry of Magic would suddenly fund a new position.

After the two shared a glass of fire whiskey, Harry made his way to leave. Walking towards the sitting room where Cyrus had directed he could use the floo, Harry encountered Daphne.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Lord Potter-Black at her home. Nevertheless, she managed to speak a polite greeting.

"Good day, Lord Potter," she said, then quickly added, "um, I mean Lord Potter-Black."

Harry could hear the coldness in her tone which also served to emphasise her formal tone. "Good day, Miss Greengrass."

"What brings you to Greengrass Manor? I thought that there was supposed to be an alliance meeting today, at Ogdens," stated Daphne.

Harry bowed slightly to her question and comment. "There was indeed an alliance meeting today, however, I needed to complete some urgent business, some family matters, with your father, Lord Greengrass."

Daphne stiffened at the statement, worried that Harry Potter might be foolish enough to go behind her back after she had quite plainly rebuffed him and actually tried to procure a betrothal by speaking directly to her father. On one hand, she thought it might be possible for Potter-Black to try and show his new found traditionalist side by attempting to arrange a betrothal in much the same way magical families had been doing for centuries. On the other hand, she assumed there is no way that the Gryffindor Golden Boy would ever attempt such a plan. However, before she could dwell on her thoughts any further, Harry bid her a good day and he disappeared through the floo.

Daphne was not exactly happy to be left wondering what had transpired, so she made her way to her father's study. She arrived at the same time that her mother did, so she followed her mother into the study.

Daphne was initially worried and her face paled as she saw her father stand up and he seemed to be beaming with happiness. Even her mother could easily detect that Cyrus' mood was much more pleasant than it was earlier, particularly as she knew how he had reacted when she shared with him the information from her sister about their niece. Before Daphne could say anything her father started to speak.

"I have good news for the family," he declared with a broad smile. "I have arranged for a proper betrothal!"

Lady Greengrass smiled in response, however, Daphne's face paled in shock. She considered running away from the room, fearing that she was about to be told that she was being married off against her will, when her father continued. "The news I have is not be spread around, it is for our immediate family only."

Daphne's face now changed from being pale and worried to confusion. Before she could say anything her father spoke to her mother. "You can let your sister know that things will be working out for her daughter Silene."

Daphne's face now betrayed her confusion. "But why was Potter here? What's going on? What in Merlin's name does he have to do with anything?"

Daphne's father turned to look at her and he had a confused look on his face. "Lord Potter-Black was just helping out with family business, that is all."

Daphne could tell from the way her father spoke that she would not be getting any further information out of him. So she turned and went to her room to sulk as she felt that she was being left out of something.

* * *

P&P11.4

* * *

Harry Potter took the floo to the Ministry of Magic and made his way to the office of the Minister for Magic. He quickly learned the the minister was unavailable at the moment, but his secretary would leave him a message that Lord Harry Potter-Black wished to speak with him.

It wasn't until the following morning that Harry received a message that the minister would be able to see him briefly, and that the meeting could occur shortly before noon. Harry made his way back to the ministry. He was able to explain his concerns about Percy Weasley and how his skills and experience with the ministry were not being used to their full potential as he essentially had become a lackey and errand boy for any department head. Harry also pointed out how the ministry needed a new liaison with the ICW, something which Percy would probably do quite well with as he was always one for following protocols and rules and seemed to know them better than many if not all of the other members of the ministry. Not to mention he was already quite adept in the communication skill commonly known as either "brown nosing" or "sucking up"to others.

Kingsley smiled slightly at Harry's comments, and he conceded that Harry had a point about Percy and his skills. Raising an eyebrow he then added, "I am quite sure, my young friend, that there is more to your request than Percy's ability to make nice within various political circles and the apparent opening for a liaison with the ICW. I am only slightly concerned about what those ulterior motives could be. Certain individuals within the ministry may be concerned about how such a position will be funded. We are still running on a tight financial budget."

"Rest assured there is no personal gain for me in this situation," said Harry calmly. "To be frank, it would be a simple way for Percy to avoid any public embarrassment for himself or his young fiancee."

"I was unaware that Percy was going to be married soon," said Kingsley. "I had heard that he had been seeing someone, a young pureblood if my memory serves me well. I believe it was several years ago that his former girlfriend, Persephone…"

"Penelope Clearwater," corrected Harry.

"Yes, right, of course, Penelope," acknowledged the minister, "that Penelope had quite enough of Percy's arrogance and attitude."

"I have found that in dealing with certain political types, such as at the ICW, that a certain amount of attitude and arrogance can come in handy," added Harry.

"That may all be well and good, but there is still finding somewhere in the budget to pay Percy to do this job," lamented Kingsley.

"Perhaps an anonymous source could sponsor a funded chair, like some muggle universities do for certain positions, and then the ministry itself would not need to worry about the actual expense," said Harry.

"And what would the requirements of this anonymous source be for creating such an endowment?" asked Kingsley.

"I would imagine that such a funded position would only require that there be an accounting for the individual's activities, that they were actually performing their job to the satisfaction of the ministry," said Harry assuringly.

"Fine, fine, I will set about making the appointment," said Kingsley. "I'll just run it by a few of the department heads, but I have no worries about it actually being approved, particularly if such an endowment were to materialise in the very near future."

* * *

P&P11.5

* * *

Silene Dedworth had returned to Greengrass Manor after she and Percy had been told that Cyrus had approved the betrothal. Silene was more relaxed than she had been in days. As she made her way to the room she stayed in at the manor, Daphne heard her walking down the hall.

"Silene," she called out to her cousin.

Silene turned around and Daphne was surprised to see her beaming. "Oh, Daphne, have you heard the great news?"

"Last I knew you were running off to get married to Percy Weasley in a muggle ceremony."

Silene smiled, "Oh, that, well, no, we didn't do that. But we will be getting married, and soon. With my parents' approval. And you won't believe this, but Percy just got a promotion!"

Daphne was greatly puzzled. "Wait, he got a promotion? What is he going to be doing?"

Silene continued to beam as she explained to her cousin what had transpired. "The minister, Shacklebolt, he has seen how perceptive Percy can be, and how diplomatic he can be, and well, the ministry needs to improve their ties to the ICW. Percy will be the new liaison with the ICW! We're going to have to move to the continent, as the meetings are usually held in either Prague or Geneva. This is so exciting!"

Daphne smiled at her cousin, "Oh, I'm so happy for you."

They hugged and Silene turned and entered her room.

Daphne's brow furrowed as she wondered aloud, "What in Merlin's name is really going on?"

Daphne made her way outside to her family's garden. She found her favourite spot, a bench that overlooked the small pond. She shivered slightly as she realised it was only a few feet away from where she was sitting that she had verbally rebuffed Harry Potter when he asked her about a betrothal. She had been so sure she knew all she needed to know about him at that time. How he was self-centered and judgemental. How he treated everyone poorly and expected everyone to put him on a pedestal as the Boy Who Lived, and how people should just hang on his every word because he had defeated Voldemort, or Tom Riddle.

Tears came into her eyes as she realised that perhaps she was not completely correct in her assessment of him. Percy Weasley had been her source for confirming her opinions of him. But Percy had tried to run off with her cousin, ignoring all of the traditions that were important to Silene's family. And could it have actually been Harry Potter who made things right? Even a drunken Ron Weasley, former best friend of the Boy Who Lived had fantastical stories that gave a different light to who Harry Potter was and what he really went through at school. And she had seen for herself his interaction with children at the orphanage, and he had been making a concerted effort in teaching the magical world about the muggle world as well as making sure that those new to the magical world understood it better than they had previously been shown when they came into this strange society, well, strange if you were a muggle born.

She wiped her eyes as she saw her best friend making her away around the pond to her. She reminded herself that Harry was presumptuous when he had the audacity to ask her about the betrothal. He had the audacity to bother her at the ministry even when he didn't need to come by her office.

Tracey came around the final bend to where she was sitting. "Hey there, Daph, you okay?"

Daphne coughed slightly to clear her throat, not wanting any of her recent emotions to try and show through as she answered her friend. "Fine, I'm fine. I'm just so relieved to hear that Silene is going to be okay. Percy may have been a jerk, but he does really care for her. I guess it was just typical Weasley foolishness for him to try and run off with her like that. But it will be fine. They'll be fine."

Tracey looked at her, narrowing her eyes. "What in Merlin's name are you on about?"

She then sat down next to Daphne, the puzzled look on her face not going away.

Daphne covered her mouth momentarily before she explained herself more clearly. "Oh, so much has happened. Weasley, Percy, the one I know from the ministry. Well, he and Silene had run off. The idiots were thinking of having a muggle wedding in secret! He thought her parents would never approve of him. But somehow everything changed. He has a new position within the ministry, he will be working directly with the ICW. He and Silene will get married, with her parents' approval, and then move to the continent."

Tracey's jaw dropped. "That's an incredible turn around in events. How the hell did that happen?"

"I'm not really sure," she said while looking across the pond and avoiding Tracey's gaze. "I'm just glad it's working out. My mum is happy. My aunt is much happier. The whole family is happier with this."

"Well, it sure beats running off into the muggle world," said Tracey, reaching out and putting a hand on Daphne's shoulder.

Daphne turned and noticed a ring on Tracey's finger. "What is that?!"

"Oh, this?" she said with a broad smile. "Theo asked me to marry him, and of course I said 'yes'!"

Daphne hugged Tracey. "I am so happy for you! You two really are good together."

* * *

**AN: a shorter chapter, but moving the story along.**

**Some have complained that the story is moving too slowly, that Daphne has been to slow to move on from her prejudices. My thinking is that for her to change her opinion on Harry would require such a major change in her ****thinking, then it will take a while for her to accept and believe what she has been hearing and seeing.**

**Elizabeth Bennett did not change her thinking very quickly either...**


	13. Chapter 12

P&P12

* * *

**March 2004**

Neville Longbottom had gained plenty of self confidence during his seventh year at Hogwarts, enough that he openly opposed Voldemort to his face and then slew the magical snake Nagini. However, he was feeling as timid as he did as a first year when he was considered not much more than a squib as he walked up to the office that Cyrus Greengrass had in his home. Neville had arrived early for the dinner he had been invited to, and decided he would take the time to speak with Astoria's father. He had excused himself from sitting in the lounge with Astoria and his mother when he made his way stealthily to the office.

Hesitantly he knocked on the door to the office.

"Come in, the door is open," boomed the baritone voice from inside.

Neville slowly opened the door and stepped inside. "Lord Greengrass, if I could bother you for a moment of your time."

"Sure thing, Neville," replied Cyrus, tilting his head slightly at the formality that the young wizard was using in addressing him. "What can I do for you?"

Neville shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to the other, and looked around the room quickly before turning his gaze back on Lord Greengrass. "Well, I'm not sure exactly what the proper way is to do this, so I will just come out with it. I am seeking your permission to marry your daughter, Astoria. If you want to negotiate a betrothal contract, I am prepared to do that at this time." Neville gained more confidence as he spoke and he stood up straighter. Before Cyrus could answer, Neville spoke again. "Sir, Cyrus, um, Lord Greengrass, may I have your permission to marry Astoria?"

Cyrus was still sitting in his chair behind his desk. His hands grasped onto the arms of his chair harder to keep him steady as his jaw dropped as he listened to the words of Neville. He coughed a couple of times and then pushed himself up into a standing position, and with his hands straightened out his robes and then he finally looked back at Neville who was standing tall and had no signs of wavering in his decision to ask for the betrothal.

Cyrus cleared his throat once more before he replied. "Well, Neville, or I should say, Lord Longbottom, I do follow many of our traditions, but I would hate to speak for my daughter on a matter as serious as the one at hand. I will give you my permission, solely on the condition that Astoria herself wants this. I will not throw my daughter into a loveless marriage out of convenience, I already gained their distrust and anger when I dared to suggest a possible betrothal last year. I dare not try that again, as there are three witches who live here who could and would make life most difficult if that were to happen."

Cyrus then called for his house elf, and quickly asked the elf to have Astoria come join them in his office. A minute later his youngest daughter arrived in the office, her face slightly red from nearly running there and from her anxiety over what this could possibly be about.

"Ah, Astoria," spoke her father, "it seems that the Lord Longbottom has a request of me, and I in turn have made it clear that I cannot answer him without knowing your desire in this situation."

Astoria's face wrinkled slightly with her confusion as she was wondering what this was about and she had feared that her father and Neville had gotten into some sort of argument.

"Exactly what situation are we talking about?" she demanded.

Neville smiled at her and then closed his eyes momentarily as he wiped his brow with his hand, then he looked her deep in the eyes as he spoke. "Astoria, I would like to enter into a betrothal contract with you, if you would agree to marry me. Your father will not answer me until he knows your own desire in this matter."

Astoria covered her gaping mouth with her hand as her eyes opened wide as she heard Neville's statement.

"Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!" Then she turned to her father. "You will say yes if this is what I want, won't you papa?"

"There is no bride price that could be too high, in my opinion," stated Neville.

Astoria gasped at Neville's words, and clasped her hands to her face as she turned to look at her father, waiting for his response to Neville.

Cyrus scrunched his eyes slightly as he scratched his chin for a moment, then he straightened himself and spoke to the young Lord standing in front of him. "Neville, Lord Longbottom, our families have been joined in this new alliance, even if we have not revealed the full scope of this alliance to the rest of the Wizengamot. You have shown yourself to be a wise and brave young man. House Greengrass happily grants you permission to wed Astoria. I will make no brideprice for her, as I will not sell my daughters, as they made it perfectly clear that is how they would view most any form of betrothal. I only wish to be able to discuss the possibility of an heir for house Greengrass coming from your family, if one is not to be brought into the family by my eldest daughter."

Cyrus felt a little uneasy as he waited Longbottom's reply, considering his request was highly unusual as such matters were usually drawn out in detail long before any agreement was formally reached.

Neville seemed to stand a little taller and smiled broadly at Lord Greengrass. "I am honoured to be able to take Astoria as Lady Longbottom, and I am willing to wait and discuss the possibilities of an heir for her birth family, and I appreciate your willingness to delay negotiating such details and I consider it a show of good faith and respect on your part to agree to this union with such vague terms."

Neville tried to maintain a stoic appearance as he completed the verbal negotiations with the man who was now going to be his father in law.

Cyrus smiled at Neville. "Your grandmother should be proud. You have acquitted yourself like a proper lord in magical Britain with your tone and your words. You honour me and my family through your actions." He then gave a slight nod to Neville, and then he turned to Astoria. "So, who will reveal this information to your mother? Shall I do it or do you…."

Before he could finish his question Astoria had jumped forward and given her father a kiss on his cheek and a quick hug before moving quickly out of the room in search of her mother to share the exciting news.

Cyrus blushed slightly and quickly composed himself. He looked up at Neville as he said, "I guess all I have to say now is, welcome to the family, son."

* * *

P&P 12.2

* * *

Lord Harry Potter-Black was quick to arrange an engagement party to celebrate the upcoming wedding between his best friend, Lord Neville Longbottom and his fiancee, Lady Astoria Greengrass. Invitations went to members of the Wizengamot as well as those who had been classmates with both Neville and Astoria during their time at Hogwarts.

Harry offered one of his mansions with a large ballroom as the location for the festivities, and Neville and Astoria were only happy to accept the generous offer from him. The news spread quickly throughout magical Britain, but all those who were invited seemed eager to come to the celebration, even if it was just for the official announcement of the betrothal.

**Saturday, 17 April, 2004**

The social event of the year for magical Britain was starting to appear to be the engagement/betrothal party for Lord Neville Longbottom and Lady Astoria Greengrass. The two of them were both excited and nervous about the planned festivities, but Harry had taken Neville aside to try and calm him down during the afternoon prior to the party.

"Neville, it was nearly two years ago at your birthday party that you first danced with Astoria. You had only just met her. Tonight is about the two of you planning to spend the rest of your lives together. You had a great time at your birthday party. Don't worry about anyone else tonight, just take care of Astoria, make sure that the both of you have fun. This is a celebration of the two of you committing to one another."

Neville nodded slowly before raising his concerns. "But, she was in Slytherin, and I was in Gryffindor."

"And you both went to Hogwarts. You both have magic. You both like each other. Nothing else matters," said Harry. "No one else's opinion on this matters," he added firmly.

Neville smiled at his best friend. "Thanks, Harry, for everything." He clasped Harry on his shoulder.

"All you have to do is be yourself Neville. Astoria fell in love with you, and that is all that matters." Harry pulled Neville into a hug. "You two just enjoy yourselves."

Neville nodded as he added, "That's what my gran said. Just enjoy ourselves."

The evening came and the guests started to arrive at the party. Harry initially stood near the entrance to greet the guests but soon Lord Greengrass came up and spoke with him. "While you are officially the host of this party, this is for Olivia and I to greet everyone. Astoria is our daughter and soon to be Neville's wife. Allow us the honour of greeting everyone."

Harry nodded and smiled at Cyrus, "Of course, sir, I just want this to be a night to celebrate the two of them. It's not about me."

Cyrus gave a slight smile and a nod to Harry, and then Harry turned and left the Lord and Lady Greengrass at the entrance. He entered the hall and smiled as he looked over at Neville and Astoria, seated on a platform at the far end of the hall, and the guests that had already arrived were forming a line to offer their congratulations. Harry then scanned the hall, and the stage was set with the band, and the refreshments were already set up on the buffet table. Briefly Harry thought to himself, 'this will be a great evening for everyone.'

Several of the guests made their way to Harry to thank him for providing this party to celebrate the young couple. Lords Ogden and Quintin both came to speak with him.

"You, young man, are proving to be a fine addition to our little alliance. With your very public actions you are doing more to unite our magical society than the great Albus Dumbledore could have ever dreamed of doing," stated Lord Ogden.

"Don't let this old codger fool you," said Lord Quintin with a slight nudge to Ogden's side, "Dumbledore was never really trying to unite our society, he just wanted to be the Supreme Mugwump and have everything be _his_ way."

Ogden turned to face Quintin. "Well, Dumbledore wanted to unite everyone under _his_ rule, under_ his world view_, which was that everyone should acknowledge that he was the greatest wizard ever, more so than even Merlin himself."

Quintin tilted his head slightly, "Fine, fine, I'll have to grant you that."

"See, my lords," said Harry, "we can come together as an alliance with people from different backgrounds."

"Which is why you will be more successful than Dumbledore could have ever hoped for," said Ogden.

"Let's just let the young man be," said Quintin, "we need to make our way over to the buffet."

"No we don't," argued Ogden, "we just need to make our way to the bar."

Harry smiled as the two older wizards made their way towards the bar.

Terry Boot then came up to speak with Harry. "So, you now have those two from the new alliance eating out of your hand," he observed.

"Not quite, just making pleasant conversation is all," said Harry as he smiled at his former classmate. "No, tonight is just about Neville and Astoria and having a great time."

Terry smiled at Harry. "So, Lord Potter-Black, what else do you have hidden up your sleeve? You're teaching the entire magical world about its own history as well as teaching them all about muggle history. You're uniting families from backgrounds as different as the Longbottom's and the Greengrass's. You're involved with a new alliance in the Wizengamot."

Harry shushed Terry. "The new alliance is still not formally announced, although we are all working towards the same goals."

"See, you even have a strategy for continuing your work," said Terry will smiling. "All that is missing is a Lady Potter-Black."

Harry looked away from Terry for a moment, gathered himself before he turned back to the other wizard. "That is something that is still not in the foreseeable future."

Terry raised an eyebrow. "She can't keep avoiding you and turning you down forever."

Before Harry could question him further Terry Boot had turned and walked away towards the buffet table.

About that time the music started to play and Neville and Astoria took the first dance of the evening. The entire crowd watched the young couple dance and it was clear to all that they are solely focused on each other. As the song ended there was applause from around the room. Once the music started again several other couples joined them on the dance floor.

Harry was keeping an eye on Neville and Astoria as he made his way around the hall, until he inadvertently bumped into someone. He turned around to help them up and found himself offering a hand to Daphne Greengrass.

"My apologies, Lady Greengrass," he said as his cheeks turned a little red. "We really must stop meeting like this."

Daphne smiled slightly and took his hand and let him pull her back to standing. As she was about to respond, Harry noticed Neville's cousin, Cassandra, making her way towards them. Harry turned back to face Daphne, "If you would be so kind as to grace me with a dance to make up for my carelessness, I would most definitely appreciate it."

Daphne's eyes narrowed with a little confusion, but she shrugged her shoulders and decided she would give it a try once again. "Sure, Lord Potter-Black, I would be happy to dance with you."

Harry led her out onto the floor and they started to dance. Soon many of the eyes of the guests were focused on them as opposed to Neville and Astoria. Harry kept his eyes focused on the blonde witch he was dancing with and did not see the many eyes glaring at them, or at least at Daphne.

Daphne also ignored the stares as she focused on Harry. Part way through the dance she spoke softly to her dance partner. "Lord Potter-Black, Harry, I believe that I owe you an apology for the last conversation we had at my family's home in the garden. My words were unnecessarily harsh and I was an ungracious hostess."

Harry smiled slightly, but missed a step and nearly caused the two of them to trip. "My apologies for my careless feet tonight, Daphne. While I readily accept your apology, I fear that I was too bold and too coarse in my words to you that day. It was not my place to discuss such things. Please forgive my forwardness at that time."

Daphne took a deep breath and smiled at Harry. "Perhaps I may have misjudged you. Maybe we could have a chance to talk about your many projects which you have been working on, and I can endeavour to keep a more open mind than I have shown you in the past. If the minister is not fully aware of what you have been up to, I am sure that he would appreciate being made aware of your many efforts to improve our society."

As the song came to an end, Harry bowed slightly to her, and as he was about to let go of her hand he replied to her comment, "I look forward to that discussion, and I am honoured that you would like to pursue such a discussion." With those words he placed a kiss on her knuckles, took a step back and then turned and made his way off of the dance floor.

Daphne worked to suppress a blush from rising to her cheeks. She herself turned and made her way out to the gardens outside of the hall, that were charmed to be seasonably warm and comfortable for the guests. She saw her friend Tracey and her fiancé Theo standing under a tree in the garden, so she started to make her way over towards them. However, before she was able to get any closer to them she was accosted by a large and angry woman whose face was as red as her hair.

"Who do you think you are, dancing with Harry Potter like that?"

The voice was shrill and Daphne was completely caught off guard. She turned to the banshee who was harassing her, "Excuse me, who are you and what are you talking about?"

"Molly Weasley, Mrs. Weasley to the likes of you," said the Weasley matriarch loud enough than many people could easily hear her words.

"Again, what is your problem? And I can dance with any young man who asks me if I so choose," said Daphne as she took a step back away from the other woman.

"Well, you just stay away from Harry. Harry is supposed to be reunited with my Ginny! And he really needs to be spending time with his friends, his real friends! He should be spending time with his original friend, Ron. He shouldn't be wasting his time with the likes of Neville Longbottom or that ungrateful muggle born Hermione Granger. "

Daphne's eyes went wide as she could scarcely believe that she was being accosted by this woman, let alone after one dance, and that was after being asked by Lord Potter-Black himself. She was trying to find something to say to escape her situation, but the woman continued her verbal barrage.

"Harry needs to stop spending his time with any of those trumped up people from the ministry or from the other ministries on the continent. And he definitely should not be associated with any of the former Death Eaters or any of those horrible Slytherin types," continued Molly Weasley. "Harry does not need to be bothered by your kind."

Daphne was about to say something about her family not being Death Eaters when Arthur Weasley came up and took his wife by the arm. "Now dear, this is neither the time nor the place for any of this." He looked at Daphne with a sad and apologetic face.

Molly turned to face her husband, who gave her a stern look. "Not here, not now, not ever," he said quietly so as not to lead to any further embarrassment. "What you have done is just wrong."

The commotion that was being created was drawing the attention of many at the party. Harry started to make his way over to the gardens where the incident was unfolding, but Kreacher had arrived before him. The house elf spoke sharply to Mister Weasley.

"Would mister and missus be needing to leave the party? This is not appropriate behaviour for the celebration for Lord Longbottom and Lady Astoria. Do you be needing assistance with leaving?"

Molly turned and was aghast that there was a house elf speaking with them. Arthur grimaced slightly as he knew a very unpleasant scene had been created. He quickly spoke to the house elf, "I do believe that might be best in this situation."

There was a slight pop as Kreacher disappeared with the Weasleys. As Harry approached the scene he saw Daphne making her way towards her friend Tracey. He stopped himself from getting further involved and he spoke to the guests nearby, reassuring them that the party would continue and hopefully there would be no further distractions.

Cyrus Greengrass had been making his way over to the scene of the disturbance and he came upon Harry.

"What was all that just now?" he asked.

Harry rubbed his chin as he answered. "I believe that one of the guests was verbally harassing your eldest daughter, but it seems that my personal house elf has managed to diffuse the situation by removing the offending individual from the party."

"Well, if it is all over and done, and everyone can go back to celebrating, then I guess no real harm done," he said to Harry as he was looking over Harry's shoulder to see who was out in the gardens and if his daughter was okay. He noted that she was being consoled by her friends, and then turned to Harry. "Sometimes these things happen. We cannot control the behaviour of those who we assume will be civil and polite, now, can we."

Harry nodded at Lord Greengrass and then they both made their way back into the crowd within the hall. Harry entered into many discussions with the members of their fledgling alliance as well as with many of his classmates from Hogwarts, all the while making sure he was avoiding any witches who might be looking for a dance with him. He checked on Neville and Astoria from time to time, as they spent much time on the dance floor as well as some time visiting with mutual friends.

As the evening wore on, Harry made his way over to the gardens once again. He had noted that Tracey and Theo were dancing together in the hall, and that left Daphne alone and she was seated on a bench beneath a large tree. He made his way over to her and sat down beside her. "I hope you don't mind me joining you, but perhaps I can stave off any more boorish behaviour on the part of one of the guests."

Daphne smiled slightly at his words. "It's your home, it's your bench," she said without looking at him directly.

"Yes, and as it is my home, I feel responsible for the inexcusable behaviour of Mrs. Weasley," said Harry. "And yes, I have learned what it was that she had said to you, and please know that no one else here agrees with her in anyway."

Daphne chuckled slightly at his words. "I would think that I would be a moron if I listened to her, considering how she carried on. Although, Percy might have chimed in supporting her if he had been here."

"Ah, yes, Percy Weasley, who is now a part of your family," said Harry, still not looking at her.

"I do hear that they are happy together, over in Switzerland," said Daphne. "He's a talented wizard, but apparently prone to inaccurate views of others. At least he will work to keep Silene happy. If he knows what's good for him at any rate."

Harry continued to keep his eyes on the people on the dance floor. "You know, Miss Greengrass, not meaning to be rude, but I have kept my eye on you, something that is not hard to do."

Daphne bit her lip and continued to look out across the gardens.

"You may have wondered all those months ago, just why I felt motivated to pose the question that you reacted to in a most definitive manner." He paused for a moment.

Daphne simply stated, "The thought had crossed my mind, at some point."

Harry closed his eyes briefly before he continued. "I have been aware of your volunteering at the orphanage for some time. Volunteering two weekends a month for the past couple of years. Those kids love it when you come spend time with them."

Daphne stopped herself from turning to look at him, but quietly wondered just how he had known that.

"I have seen first hand just how dedicated you are to your work at the ministry, how thorough you are with completing your tasks for the minister. You pay attention to detail. You are bright, you are skilled, and while you try not to show it to others, particularly those who do not know you well, you do have compassion for others."

Daphne again bit her lip to stop herself from making a scathing remark. "Well, it seems that the former Gryffindor who used to run headstrong into everything has learned to observe things around him." She praised herself internally for speaking politely, even if the response might have come off as a little sarcastic. She then added, "It is kind of you to notice and say those things."

There was an awkward silence for a minute and then Daphne spoke up again. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

Internally Harry smiled, the beautiful witch sitting next to him was actually speaking pleasantly with him, and they were about to embark on a conversation that had nothing to do with her work, or so he assumed, nor his being the Boy Who Lived. "Go ahead, whatever you want to ask."

For starters, Neville and Astoria, why this party? What are you doing this for? I thought you opposed their being together."

Harry chuckled slightly. "Not pulling any punches are you." He took a deep breath and then answered, "I was at one point worried that she was simply interested in Neville for his family name or fortune. I didn't know her, or your family. I also know Neville quite well. Honestly, I was surprised to see them together two years ago. I wasn't unhappy about it, just, concerned. I may have encouraged Neville to focus his attentions elsewhere for a time, but then I became aware of how much they missed each other and how much they did truly care for each other. So I felt I needed to support Neville in this. He is a good man. He will do everything to keep her happy, I am sure of that."

Daphne smirked slightly as she felt vindicated that Harry had been responsible for the disruption in their relationship, but she was very glad to hear Harry's support for the relationship. "Hermione Granger, she has been your friend since you started at Hogwarts. You know that I have gotten to know her through some classes and through work at the ministry. Why haven't you dated her? Everyone at school assumed that you two would end up together."

Harry considered the question, and realised that Daphne was starting to get more personal. "Hermione has always been one of my best friends. She's like the sister I never had. She's beautiful, but I could never see her as a romantic partner. That just seems wrong to me, and I think she feels the same way."

Harry was starting to feel like he was being quizzed, or evaluated.

"Well, that is similar to what she has told me about you," admitted Daphne.

Harry started to turn to look at her, but stopped himself and continued to look away and scan the the rest of the crowd.

"One thing that I never understood," said Daphne. "Why me? What caused you to be so interested in me? Even when I was antagonistic towards you at times. And if your answer has anything to do with my looks then I will know you for the shallow and uncouth boor that certain individuals in Slytherin house used to claim that you were."

Harry laughed slightly at her question, although Daphne wondered if he was laughing more at her statement, or both, or just at her.

"You have never treated me different because of the Boy Who Lived fame. You have never acted like a fan girl who was excited if I simply looked your way or deigned you important enough to speak with. To you I was at best just another wizard, at worst, you saw me as a egocentric jerk. But you weren't a fan girl."

Daphne laughed in response to his proclamation. "No, never been a fan girl."

The two were smiling slightly but still did not turn to look at each other.

After another minute of silence, Daphne spoke again. "So, tell me about Cassandra, Neville's cousin. I know that you've attended many events with her recently. Is she your current girlfriend? Or just another fan girl who you let get close?"

Harry winced at that question. "I have not had a girlfriend since I broke up with Ginevra Weasley after the Battle of Hogwarts, although we never really started dating again, in my opinion, after I broke up with her during the summer before what would have been out seventh year. So, Cassandra, she's just a friend. I think she and even her mother and Neville's grandmother have been hoping for something more. But no, there's nothing there, much to her repeated disappointment."

Harry wasn't sure if he heard a sigh come from Daphne, or was that just her letting out a breath she had been holding. Harry closed his eyes momentarily and stopped himself from turning to face her.

"You've been busy with forming this new alliance and with creating these museums. You seem focused on change within the magical world. What is your goal with all of these changes?"

Harry raised an eyebrow in response to the question. "I wasn't brought up in this world, but I have grown to understand it better since the war has ended, and I have learned to appreciate it better. I knew nothing about the magical world the day I arrived at Hogwarts beyond what I learned in one short day from Hagrid. Yes, Hagrid. I knew nothing about magic or being a wizard or what happened to my parents before he showed up. But you already heard about that when you met Dudley. Those coming from the muggle world, those who know nothing about the magical world, they need a better introduction than what Hogwarts provides. And those who have grown up in the magical world and know nothing about the muggle world, Hogwarts does a disservice to them. But I think we've covered this before. If we are to avoid dark lords and stop students in the different houses from hating each other and treating each other poorly, then we need for everyone to understand both worlds. That has never really been done so far."

Daphne tilted her head as she thought about all of the information at the Black Manor museums she had toured. Daphne was prepared to ask him more questions when one of the house elves taking care of the needs of the guests came up to Harry.

"Master Harry, sir, Lord Neville was requesting your presence, for pictures or some such thing."

Harry thanked the elf and stood up to head back into the hall. He turned to Daphne, "I have enjoyed this, our time together here. Perhaps we can continue this another time?"

Daphne looked up at Harry. "I would like that too," she said. She looked away for a moment then she put her hand on the side of her head as she continued her response. "Perhaps we can continue this discussion, next Saturday in the gardens at my parent's estate."

Harry smiled at her. "That would be nice." Then he turned and followed the house elf into the hall.

* * *

P&P12.3

* * *

**Saturday 24 April**

It had been a long week for Harry, as he couldn't get his mind off of the fact that Daphne had actually invited him to come over to visit with her that weekend. He had a hard time concentrating on his various endeavours, and was ultimately glad he had set up his companies and investments to run without his needing to be directly involved.

Saturday had arrived and Harry apparated to just outside the wards of Greengrass Manor, and was allowed to pass through the wards as he walked up to the large home. Daphne greeted him at the door and they made their way to the gardens out back.

There was comfortable silence for the first couple of minutes as they walked side by side. Then Daphne turned to Harry as she spoke to him. "I cannot take it anymore, and I need to know."

Harry was initially stunned by the serious tone in her voice. "What exactly is it that you need to know?"

"Your secrets, you have so many secrets! It's driving me crazy trying to decipher your secrets," admitted Daphne.

"What secrets?" asked Harry, trying to sound innocent.

"The orphanage, the work being done at Hogwarts, it is all supported by PP&M Investments, and no one knows anything about this PP&M thing, or if they do, they won't say anything about it. I know that your businesses are all under the umbrella J&L Holdings. But I suspect you know more about PP&M Investments. And the few people who seem to know anything about PP&M Investments won't say anything to anyone." She rambled off her information quite quickly. "I am convinced, now more than ever, that you have something to do with it."

"Er, what is it that you need to know?" asked Harry again.

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him. "PP&M, what is it? Who is it? Who is really running it? It wasn't hard to figure out that you're honouring your parents with J&L Holdings. James and Lily, that makes sense. But PP&M? Potter and who else? Your mother's maiden name was Evans. Doesn't fit. Malfoy for the M? Not bloody likely. But McGonagall spoke of it at the concert. She knows something? Potter, Pomfrey and McGonagall? One kept putting you back together after your adventures and the other made sure you didn't get into too much trouble at school, no matter what you did." She folded her arms across her chest, awaiting an answer or an acknowledgement from Harry.

"Fine, I do own PP&M, and no, you have no idea what the initials stand for," admitted Harry, a smug smile adorning his face at this point.

Daphne stood there silent. She raised an eyebrow and slightly turned her head to quietly indicate she was happy that she was proven right. At least about part of it.

Harry noted her intense gaze had not changed. "So, well, one would need to know more about my dad and his friends when they were students, which is why McGonagall and Flitwick knew the reference."

Harry could have sworn that Daphne was tapping her foot with impatience, but he didn't dare take his eyes off of the witch in front of him due to the intensity of her visage.

"So, my dad and his best friends, they were pranksters, almost bullies to some. Well, maybe they did bully certain individuals, such as Professor Snape." He paused, and her intensity did not falter. Harry took a deep breath and continued. "Professor Remus Lupin, our DADA professor from third year…."

Daphne finally spoke, "Yes, yes, the one who was a werewolf so he was forced out of the position, but the man could actually teach magic…"

"Yes, well, Remus, he had a nickname among their group. They called him Moony."

"That's the M? Potter and who and Moony? Oh, wait, Peter Pettigrew was killed by Sirius Black, is that the other P?"

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. "Peter Pettigrew was not killed by Sirius Black. Pettigrew, or Wormtail, he was the one who betrayed my parents. Sirius went after him that night. He finally tracked him down. Pettigrew killed the muggles and then escaped by changing into his animagus form, a rat, and escaping and then he went into hiding."

Daphne's stoic stance fell apart as a hand went to cover her now gaping mouth.

Harry continued, "Sirius Black was my godfather. The four of them, my dad, Sirius, Professor Lupin and Wormtail, they had a nickname, the Marauders. That was the name they used when they were pranking others. So, the group, they wanted to support their friend, Remus Lupin." Harry paused and scratched the back of his head before he continued the story. "And while they were students they all became animagi, and they would change into their animal forms and they would stay with Remus on the full moon when he transformed. The werewolf would not attack them when they were in their animal forms. But their presence, as animals, well, they did it to keep him calm, to keep him company. And it worked."

"But how could they do that at Hogwarts? Someone must have known, or heard them," said Daphne.

Harry suppressed a laugh, as he was trying to avoid offending her. "No, they actually left the school through a secret passage. They would spend the night inside the Shrieking Shack."

"That's why everyone said it was haunted, that you could hear all sorts of horrible noises coming from within side it, or at least there were plenty of stories of horrible sounds coming from within," said Daphne. "No one was ever brave enough to enter the Shrieking Shack on Hogsmeade weekends back when we were in school, no matter how many people would dare them."

"I've been inside there, several times in fact," said Harry.

Daphne tried to say something but no words formed.

Harry noted the softening of the look in her eyes. "So, this group of friends, the Marauders, they gave themselves nicknames based on their forms. Remus, the werewolf, as I said, was called Moony. Sirius turned into a large dog, a grim. My dad turned into a large stag. And Wormtail, well, he was a rat, in form and in character."

"Then where did the P and P come from?"

"The big black dog was named Padfoot. My dad, the large stag, with his large set of antlers, was named Prongs. Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail was their signature line. They put it on their map," said Harry.

Daphne's head snapped back slightly. "Map? What map? How did we get to talking about a map?"

Harry chuckled slightly at this. She had asked about his secrets, and he had previously asked her about a betrothal. If he was serious about that then, and hoped it still might come to pass, then he knew that he could not keep his secrets from her.

"As I said, they were all quite smart. Well, at least three of them were. The rat hung around them as he was befriended by them on the train as incoming first year students. Well, they used magic, their understanding of runes and arithmancy and all of that, to create a map. Of Hogwarts."

Daphne tilted her head back and forth slightly. "Well, yes, a map of the school could be quite helpful."

"Not just of the school," said Harry. After a slight pause he added, "A map of the school and all of the people in the school."

"The people? Wait? What? Their map would show where everyone in the school was?"

"Complete with names and the names would move when the people moved," said Harry.

"That means, that they would know where any student was at any time, day or night," said Daphne as she considered the implications.

"And the professors, and the prefects," added Harry.

Daphne's eyes widened as she realised the implications. "That is how they could pull off their pranks and not get caught."

"In large part, yes."

"But what happened to the map? Does it still exist?"

A smile formed on Harry's lips. "I acquired it during our third year at school. From the Weasley twins. They had apparently snatched it from Filch who had confiscated it back when my dad was still a student. Probably he got it from Wormtail."

"Did Filch not know what he had?" Daphne was trying to wrap her head around such a powerful tool as a map that showed the school and all the people inside it.

"No, because it was magically hidden. They had created a pass phrase that needed to be spoken to make the map show up on the parchment. And another phrase that would turn the map into a roll of blank parchment." Harry scratched the side of his face and then added, "I am still not sure how Fred and George figured out the pass phrases. 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' to activate the map and 'mischief managed' to hide the map."

"So, Prongs, Padfoot and Moony," said Daphne. "But they were pranksters, and you have this company helping others."

"Other than their pranks on Snape, and maybe some soon to be Death Eaters, they tried to keep their pranks harmless. Or, at least Moony tried to have them remain harmless. I want to honour their legacy, but I want to do it in a way that does the most good for others. They loved Quidditch. My dad was apparently a really good chaser back in his school days. So, PP&M provided the new school brooms, and new brooms for all of the house Quidditch teams."

"That sounds quite generous," said Daphne, realising there was so much more to Harry Potter-Black than she had ever imagined.

Harry shrugged. "It was meant to be. Who in their right mind would ever want to learn to fly a broom with the horrible ones we had to learn with at school? Quality brooms makes it easier to learn, easier to fly. They are less dangerous."

"And therefore people are less likely to end up in the care of Madam Pomfrey," concluded Daphne.

"Precisely," said Harry with a smile. "I don't need any students taking up my designated bed in the infirmary."

The two started to walk again once they had finished discussing PP&M Investments.

"So the orphanage. I saw you there with your godson," said Daphne.

"I'm an orphan. My godson, he's an orphan. His father was Moony, and his mother was Tonks, Nymphodora Tonks. She was a cousin to Sirius Black and she was an auror. They both died during the final battle at Hogwarts."

"I'm sorry," offered Daphne.

"Nothing to be sorry about. I just wanted to make sure that Teddy has a completely different experience growing up than I did. And all of those orphaned witches and wizards, that they have a different experience than I did." His voice was solemn and Daphne had to listen hard to hear what he had said.

"I did learn at least a little bit about your growing up from Dudley. He is not a typical muggle," said Daphne.

"He turned out completely different than I thought he would," said Harry as he nodded his head slowly. "I always assumed he would end up like his dad. I'm just really glad that he didn't."

There was an awkward pause before Daphne pointed out a bench in the gardens and they took a seat. She figured that not meandering through the gardens while they spoke would be a little easier on the conversation.

"Potter, um, Harry," said Daphne. "Could you find it possible to forgive my arrogance, my prejudice I held against you?"

Harry smiled slightly, "Already done."

He was about to say something more when Daphne interrupted him.

"Your business trips. You keep returning to the continent. When you and Longbottom first went there, the papers tracked your every move, every party and event that you went to, and the young witches you were associating with."

Harry ran is hand over his face and gave a slight laugh. "Our first trip to the continent, we were both quite young. Well, younger than we are now. And at the time, as it was right after the end of the war, we were heroes. Everyone knew that I had defeated Riddle, the dark lord, and they all knew that Neville defied him and had killed the snake. That trip was arranged by Neville's gran, it was designed for us to learn about being young lords in the magical world. She didn't trust any of the magical lords here in England at that time as the war had just ended and she wanted to keep us away from dark families. I never learned anything about the magical world, and everyone was so worried that Neville was not much more than a squib, that his education about becoming Lord Longbottom was largely overlooked."

"I did hear a bit about that from Astoria," said Daphne.

Harry nodded slightly and then he continued. "I learned that I had plenty of family investments, from both the Potter family and the Black family. But they were stagnant. I learned about business. And it was easier to reestablish these businesses on the continent. I have been successful overall, but I have also used these businesses to increase the profitability of businesses within magical Britain. The two wars with Riddle did a lot to hurt that."

"Sounds like you would be in a position to take over the magical British economy," said Daphne, speaking her sudden realisation out loud.

"I suppose I could have done that," said Harry. "The goblins did indicate I probably could have done that. But I felt it was more important to support the British magical economy that already existed."

Daphne gasped as she suddenly realised what he was implying. "Your companies must be the ones that have increased the work and business for Greengrass Imports."

Harry stuttered slightly in response. "Um, yeah, well, it's, it's, well it's not like they are the only company that I have helped out from behind the scenes. I have given favourable business relationships to others here as well."

"Why? Why Greengrass Imports?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair before he answered. "Why? Because I could. Because Neville shouldn't worry about whether or not Astoria was interested in him only for his money and his title. Which, by the way, I know she is not. Because it was the right thing to do to support magical Britain, to make it strong again. A strong magical Britain is less likely to be in a position where a new dark lord can rise up. And I sure don't want to ever face another dark lord. Facing one multiple times is definitely more than enough."

Daphne reached out slowly and placed her hand on Harry's hand that was resting on his leg. She squeezed his hand slightly. "Thank you. On behalf of my family and Greengrass Imports I thank you. On behalf of magical Britain and what you and your companies have done, and continue to do, for the school, and for everything, I thank you. But I guess, most importantly, thank you for not giving up and dealing with Riddle."

Before he could answer she grasped his hand as she stood up. He followed her and the two started to walk through the gardens once again, but she dropped his hand once they had started to walk.

After a minute of walking in silence, she turned to Harry. "And thank you for Silene. For getting involved and making that right. Our family truly appreciates what you did there."

Harry shifted on his feet. "Percy, well, he is a stuck up jerk at times, but he means well, in his own way, and he comes from a good family. We just never really saw eye to eye on anything. But again, it was the right thing to do."

The two stood there, facing each other.

Harry coughed slightly, then he looked Daphne in the eyes. "I was never good at dealing with girls, or women. And to be clear, my feelings have not changed since last year."

Daphne's eyes widened slightly at his statement. "That is," she hesitated before continuing, "most unexpected."

Harry again raked a hand through his hair. "Your initial response to the offer of a betrothal, while unexpected did cause me to examine my own motivations and actions. And perhaps it was pride on my part that assumed that someone would just immediately say yes to such an offer. Perhaps I just completely misjudged the entire situation."

Daphne took a deep breath before she spoke in response. "My own pride prevented me from seeing you for who you really are, and not the self-centered pompous jerk who was handed everything, as most in Slytherin house were lead to believe. I had judged you by what I had heard, from others, and not by what I had seen, and continue to see with my own eyes."

"That is comforting, in its own way," said Harry, acknowledging her own admission of her feelings.

"I blamed you for Astoria and Neville not being together," said Daphne. "But now I have seen how much you support them."

"Neville is like a brother to me," said Harry. "And I would do anything to make sure he has a happy life. He deserves it."

Daphne bit her lip momentarily and then looked Harry squarely in his eyes. "You say that your feelings have not changed from last year. I must admit that my sentiments have undergone a material change since that event in this garden. So, if you are foolish enough to propose to me again, I would proudly and happily accept."

One corner of Harry's mouth curled up in a half smile. He briefly wondered why the name 'Elizabeth' came to mind, but he quickly dismissed that passing thought. Then he knelt down on bended knee, and took her hands in his own. "Daphne Greengrass, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife, to give the rest of my days purpose through making my only goal to keep you happy, to make your dreams come true?"

Daphne tried to stop the tears from falling. "I pushed away a man whom I thought was arrogant and self centered and lacking of compassion and concern for those around him. I have learned that was not who I was pushing away, but that you are a thoughtful, selfless and caring man who continues to put the needs of others before them. How could I respond but say, yes; passionately and desperately I say 'yes.'"

Harry stood up slowly, carefully brushed a tear off of her cheek and then he leaned in to giver her a kiss. Their first kiss.

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**AN: There will be a brief epilogue to this story.**


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

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Harry had spoken with Cyrus Greengrass about a betrothal agreement, which was quickly denounced as Cyrus and Olivia just wanted Harry and Daphne to be together on their own desires. The still recalled how upset both of their daughters were at the idea of a betrothal agreement when the Nott family had first broached the idea.

Harry looked around the manor that he had been getting to know during his more frequent visits, whether it be to visit Daphne or for the new political alliance, and then turned to Cyrus.

"How long has your family, the Greengrass family been here, living in this manor?"

Cyrus rubbed his chin as he considered his answer. "I think that this has been Greengrass Manor for nearly 200 years. I believe that my grandfather had said at one point it had been owned by a half-blood family, the Bennets. It had the name Longbourn House at that time. Not sure where that name came from. The village nearby, was once called Meryton." He turned back to Harry. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious, that is all," said Harry with a smile.

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P&P Epilogue.2

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There were a series of big weddings in magical Britain, starting with Theodore Nott and Tracey Davis in the summer of 2004. Then there was the biggest celebration of the year with the wedding of Lord Neville Longbottom and Lady Astoria Greengrass that fall. Harry had tried to arrange for a simple wedding without drawing attention to himself, but that was not allowed to happen due to Olivia Greengrass. While the ceremony and the reception were not as big as what had occurred for Neville and Astoria, the magical press tried to cover the wedding of the Boy Who Lived as much as possible.

Harry, for one, was glad once it was all over. He and Daphne had moved into one of his many properties, a large villa in the hills of Derbyshire that most of magical Britain had been completely unaware of, which suited Harry and Daphne just fine as they would definitely enjoy the privacy it would bring.

They did have frequent visits from close friends and family. Particularly the Longbottom's and almost as often the young Nott couple. Harry soon found Theo and Tracey to be an enjoyable couple to visit with, despite Theo continuing to come across as a pompous jerk at times, but when he did, both his wife and Daphne would quickly reign him in.

Silene would visit her cousin often, but Percy still was not comfortable visiting Harry, and that was just fine with the Lord Potter-Black. As Percy was quite busy with his work at the International Confederation of Wizards, he rarely had a chance to join his wife on her visits back home to England.

Harry's relationship with the Weasley family as a whole had deteriorated after the incident at Neville and Astoria's engagement party. Molly Weasley remained vocal in her displeasure of Harry having married a Slytherin, who she continued to declare must have had connections to Death Eaters, as opposed to Harry marrying her daughter Ginny.

Ron became even more upset on seeing Harry had married a "slimy snake" and his drinking problem became worse, culminating in his getting into an argument over a glass of fire whiskey in Knockturn Alley that led to a short duel with an Auror. The Auror simply tried to calm down the drunk and ranting former war hero. When Ron pulled his wand to attack the Auror, the Auror stunned the drunkard. However, the stunning spell hit with enough impact that Ron's damaged liver tore in places, leading to internal haemorrhaging that the Auror was unprepared to treat.

Ginevra Weasley had been trying to make a name for herself in the Quidditch leagues became more and more obsessed with Harry. She was eventually forced by her Quidditch teammates to seek the help of a mind healer after repeatedly trying to dose Harry with love potions. None of her attempts were even close to being successful. She eventually retired from Quidditch and lived alone with a pet kneazle she named Harrykins.

Cassandra Woodson was initially upset with Harry when he married Daphne, however she had become close friends with Hermione Granger, who was often present at the Potter-Black residence. Cassandra eventually decided to let go of her resentment towards Daphne so she could continue to visit with Hermione as well as her cousin Neville.

Hermione and Daphne had become close friends during the time they worked together at the ministry, so much so that Hermione viewed Daphne as the sister she never had. Hermione was welcome to stay at their home as often and for as long as she desired, which was most days and nights for the next several years.

Harry Potter-Black was grateful to the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had hired Daphne to be his assistant and assigned her to oversee the memorials and the celebrations, thus forcing Harry to work with her on those serious projects. Neither Harry nor Daphne had foreseen that those projects would lead to their eventually becoming a couple.

Hermione still had plans to reshape the Ministry of Magic and the magical world, but these were tempered some as she had learned more about magical traditions through the museum of magical history that had been created by her best friend and 'brother', Harry.

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**AN: and we are done with this story...**

**Thanks for reading**

**Thanks for the reviews and comments**

**Now to work on all the other stories running through my head...**


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